Sustainability: Nardi

Five hours by car and boat followed by a 166-step climb up a 48 metre tower every two weeks may not sound like an ideal task to most, but to 28-year-old Nardi, the journey to inspect the atmospheric instruments is the “perfect unusual job”.

“I really enjoy field work – I like climbing the towers and walking through the forests. So while some may view this job as a challenge, I see it as more of an invaluable opportunity to me,” Nardi says.

Nardi has been part of APRIL’s Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Peatland Management Project team since its inception in 2016, and is primarily responsible today for reading and reporting data collected by instruments located on top of the three GHG towers that APRIL owns in Pelalawan and the Restorasi Ekosistem Riau (RER) project, a 150,000 hectare restoration area on the coast of Sumatra.

The instruments record oxygen, carbon dioxide, water and methane levels, as well as meteorological data such as temperature and humidity. 

“Carbon emissions have now become a global issue, not just a national one, so it is important for us to know what makes up the air in our ecosystem.

“We want to manage carbon emissions in our area in our pursuit to achieve responsible forest management,” Nardi says.

Getting to the GHG towers itself is no simple task – depending on its location, it takes between one and five hours to reach a GHG tower, with Nardi and his team having to use a combination of boats and cars for the journey.

It becomes an even bigger challenge when it is raining or windy, as it becomes unsafe to climb the towers, and the equipment needs to be checked once the weather clears. 

“Our instruments are all electronic so we have to make sure that they they’re all functioning and recording properly - especially after it rains as the instruments might lose their signals sometimes,” Nardi shares.

Yet, Nardi beams and reiterates that he “really loves his job”, adding that he is glad about the career pathway he has been able to carve at APRIL since he joined the company four years ago.

According to Nardi, the RGE Group has always been supportive towards him, all the way back from when he was still a university student.

“My parents are farmers, so I’ve always been interested in nature and the environment, which is why I decided to study at the Fisheries and Marine Science Department at the University of Riau,” Nardi says.

The Jambi native won a Tanoto Foundation scholarship in 2010.

“I was very happy when I got the scholarship. I thought I was really lucky - I wasn’t really sure if I would get it since there are so many people who compete for it in Indonesia,” said Nardi.

He shares that he had always aimed to joined APRIL after graduation, as the company is well-known among Indonesians.

“Tanoto Foundation representatives would always come to my university and ask if any of the scholars were interested in joining the RGE Group after graduation.

“RGE representatives would also visit the university and hand out practice tests ahead of our potential recruitment – I was told I had good scores the two or three times I took the tests, so I took that as a good sign.”

Nardi was convinced that the company was right for him after taking part in a few of Tanoto Foundation’s community development projects which took place in Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper's (RAPP's) operational areas in Kerinci.

“I liked what I saw when I was visiting most of the RAPP areas, so I was able to tell early on that joining the company would be a good opportunity, and I was right.”

Nardi says that one main benefit of staying in Kerinci is how close the places are to each other.

“It only takes me about 10 minutes to get from home to the office, so going home is also fast, and there is plenty of time for me to enjoy my hobbies after work, such as fishing and taking care of my fish ponds,” he says.

For now, Nardi says that he looks forward to advancing his career further with APRIL and RAPP.

“I also want to take up a Master’s degree, with RAPP’s support. My supervisor has already expressed his support for me to get a scholarship from the company which I plan to do next year.”