The Only Way Forward: Fitri Hasibuan Brings People Together for Conservation

For Fitri Hasibuan, caring for the environment has never been simply a profession; it has been a lifelong commitment. For more than 18 years, she has worked at the intersection of environmental conservation, food security and community development, driven by a belief that protecting nature should also improve people's lives.

Today, as Vice President for Program at Konservasi Indonesia, she provides strategic leadership for programs that integrate biodiversity conservation, climate action, sustainable development and community wellbeing across the country. Working across government, communities and development partners, she helps develop practical, evidence-based solutions to protect some of the country's most important ecosystems.

From Agriculture to Conservation

After graduating from Universitas Andalas in Padang, West Sumatra, she started her career in community development, supporting recovery programmes following the 2004 Aceh tsunami. The experience exposed her to the close connection between healthy environments and resilient communities.

Her understanding deepened while working on food security programs with a non-government organisation. During her five years with the organisation, including three years in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), she partnered closely with farming communities in one of Indonesia's driest regions.

Although farmers adopted improved cultivation techniques, better seeds and sound land management practices, unpredictable weather often determined whether they harvested a successful crop.

‘Without favourable weather, crop failure remained a constant risk,’ Fitri said.

The consequences extended well beyond agriculture. Poor harvests reduced household incomes, threatened food security and increased uncertainty for entire communities.

‘To create lasting solutions, I realised I needed to understand not only what happens on the farm, but also the wider environmental systems that shape agricultural production, especially climate,’ she said.

Those experiences reshaped her thinking. Rather than viewing agriculture, conservation and community development as separate fields, she began to see them as interconnected parts of the same system. Protecting ecosystems, she realised, was essential to improving livelihoods and strengthening resilience in the face of climate change.

Learning to Think Differently

Determined to broaden her perspective, Fitri received an Australia Awards Scholarship to study a Masters of Environmental Management at The University of Queensland in 2011.

The experience transformed not only her technical knowledge but also the way she approached leadership and problem-solving.

She found an academic environment that encouraged independence, curiosity and critical inquiry. Students were expected to question assumptions, analyse evidence and develop well-supported arguments.

’Whether developing conservation strategies, evaluating policies or working with government and community partners, I constantly rely on structured thinking, evidence-based decision-making and clear communication,’ she added.

Studying alongside classmates from different countries and professional backgrounds also challenged her to appreciate different perspectives. Through group projects, she learned that effective collaboration requires more than dividing tasks; it depends on listening carefully, respecting diverse viewpoints and building trust across cultures.

The scholarship also broadened her perspective on leadership, collaboration and problem-solving.

‘These experiences reinforced the value of collaboration, a skill that continues to shape how I lead today,’ she said.

Bringing Science and Communities Together

Throughout her career, Fitri has learned that lasting conservation depends on bringing together science, policy and community knowledge rather than treating them as separate disciplines.

One of her earliest projects after returning to Indonesia took her back to North Sumatra, where she worked on a Sustainable Agriculture Landscape program in Pakpak Bharat Regency. Together with her team, she sought to demonstrate that productive agriculture and healthy forests could coexist through integrated landscape management.

The project reinforced the importance of working across disciplines and building solutions that reflected both ecological realities and local priorities.

As her career progressed, so did the scale of her responsibilities. Fitri later led a regional conservation program across the Asia-Pacific, supporting community-based forest management initiatives with partners in China, India, Fiji, the Philippines, Cambodia and Indonesia.

‘Sustainable conservation can only succeed when local communities are active partners and environmental protection is linked to tangible social and economic benefits,’ she said.

Building Conservation Through Partnerships

The belief continues to guide Fitri’s work at Konservasi Indonesia. She believes no single organisation can protect Indonesia's extraordinary biodiversity alone.

‘The challenges facing our forests, oceans and biodiversity are too complex for any one institution to solve. Lasting conservation requires governments, communities, civil society, academia and the private sector to work together, with each contributing its unique strengths,’ she said.

One example is the Batang Toru ecosystem in North Sumatra, the only known habitat of the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan, one of the world's rarest great apes.

Multiple stakeholders, including government agencies, forest management authorities, conservation organisations, private companies and local communities, share the landscape. While many share the same goal of protecting the ecosystem, coordinating different priorities and institutional responsibilities has not always been straightforward.

‘Different mandates, priorities and institutional boundaries can make coordination challenging,’ Fitri acknowledged.

Recognising this challenge, Konservasi Indonesia supported the government's convening role by helping bring stakeholders together to identify shared priorities and strengthen collaboration.

The effort is already delivering tangible outcomes.. In 2025, the Governor of North Sumatra established the Batang Toru Working Group through a Governor's Decree, creating a formal platform for collaboration among government agencies, development partners, NGOs, academia and other stakeholders.

For Fitri, the achievement demonstrates that meaningful conservation is built through trust, long-term relationships and a shared commitment to common goals.

Turning Awareness into Action

Building partnerships is only part of the challenge. Ensuring conservation efforts continue beyond individual projects remains equally important.

Konservasi Indonesia therefore places strong emphasis on developing sustainable financing mechanisms and strengthening local capacity so conservation programmes can continue independently of donor funding.

This commitment inspired the organisation to launch Kawan Konservasi (Friends of Conservation), a platform designed to enable Indonesians to contribute directly to protecting the country's natural heritage.

Fitri hopes the initiative will encourage more Indonesians, particularly younger generations, to become active stewards of the environment.

‘There is no Planet B. This is our only home. As human beings, we have both the capacity and the responsibility to care for the world we live in. I hope this awareness continues to grow into action, through everyday choices, community initiatives, scientific innovation and public leadership,’ she said.

Fitri believes conservation is ultimately about people as much as nature. Protecting ecosystems requires scientific knowledge, thoughtful leadership and effective partnerships, but it also depends on individuals choosing to make a difference.

’Every individual has the opportunity to contribute. Protecting nature is not only the responsibility of conservation organisations. It belongs to all of us,’ she concluded.