MEET...SUZI HUTOMO

Why do you do what you do?

I believe we have to protect this planet and I believe in Anita [Roddick’s] statement ‘ Activism is the rent we have to pay for being on this planet’. Each of us has a role to play, to speak up and do what we can to protect it. If we look at the kind of forces that are acting against sustainability, it is really quite scary. I grew up in Indonesia and II have seen so much destruction.   230 million people live in this archipelago and each person needs space, food and resources.  If we say we shouldn’t touch nature at all how do we sustain ourselves? I believe the solution is sustainability. How do you find a way so the planet can exist and we can still get the food, the energy and the water we need? It needs creative thinking. I am very hopeful. We need a lot of advocacy with the government. We could not have imagined 3 years ago there would be a moratorium on deforestation, but that has happened.
 

What does the ocean mean to you?

My Father is from Makassar in Sulawesi - People there always go  to the sea, it is their natural place. I almost drowned when i was seven - I jumped off one of those inflatable things and it was much deeper then Irealised. My mother saved me, but the experience  taught me reverence, respect and care. The sea  to me means abundance. The ocean can give us so much.  The sea is a wonder, it gives me a feeling of oneness with nature, even god.  
 

Which sea creature do you most relate to and why?

Octopus, as they are intelligent and hardy, people are  still  regularly finding them, they are amazing they grow so big and one even picked the winner of the world cup!

Which living person do you most admire?

Vanadana Shiva, she is a very vocal Indian activist. She is involved in seed sovereignty; creating seed banks. We are losing the bio-diversity in our food. She believes farmers should have more  control over their livelihoods and not allow businesses to have the control.
 

And who or what do you most despise?

The people who are most misguided, the  corporate barons. They do not  focus on anything else besides  profit. But if we do not have a planet, we do not have a business. What is the point in being in a fossil based or chemical based business if it is gonna destroy the planet? Ultimately you are destroying your market.
 

If you could make just one global policy what would it be?

Sustainability. All companies, all buildings have to prove that they are sustainable because the only way for the world to continue and for all of us living on earth to have a good healthy lifestyle is to have the  world working  on a planet / people /  profit basis. Most companies make profit at the cost of environment or society and  it does not make sense.  The  prices we pay today do not take into account social and environmental costs. We need to create a whole new economic model.
 

What single experience of the Coral Triangle do you most remember?

My trip to Komodo Island. I took my family and we stayed on a live aboard boat for three days. We snorkelled and saw the amazing corals and fish, so much can be seen under the water. I felt so proud to be part of this beautiful place. I also felt sad as even though this is a marine park there is still encroachment.
 

What worries you?

I do not know the solution for Indonesia, for the Coral Triangle, with its  growing population. I attended a Coral Triangle meeting about the livelihoods of fishermen, they are having  some of the toughest times, with fish populations declining, the encroachment on their fishing areas [by industrial boats]. It is really sad, so difficult for them. How do you solve that? We want our fishermen to still catch fish to feed their families.
 

What does the Coral Triangle look like 20 years from now?

It depends what we do, which is why I support a variety of organisations that are creating  solutions like the Coral Triangle Centre, Greenpeace and The Marine Foundation. It depends on  whether Indonesians can  realise on a conscious level what we have and then take steps towards sustainabiliy so we can continue to depend on it for food & resources. This requires a multi stakeholder approach. We need to educate the consumer. What does it mean to eat the wrong fish? More people need to speak up, from  government to consumers applying international pressure. Tourism is a big vessel for change and pressure for sustainability.  We need to encourage the Ministry of Tourism and the creative economy to protect the Coral Triangle through eco-tourism. If we are successful in 20 years time we will still have the resources. Keep the vision!