By Riza Annisa Anggraeni

Riza Annisa Anggraeni reflects on her experience as a 2024-25 Mountain Sentinels Fellow – especially her time at the International Mountain Conference.

Mountain Sentinels 2024-25 Fellow Riza Annisa Anggraeni and Director Julia Klein at IMC

I was spellbound by a sight before me that I had never once imagined I would witness with my own eyes. Mount Nordkette, with its valleys shrouded in mist, reflected the soft morning sunlight from the east toward the city center of Innsbruck, complemented by the incredibly crisp air with minimal pollution.

That day marked the first time I set foot in Austria. The long journey I took from Indonesia by air did not make me feel the least bit weary to attend the first agenda item of the International Mountain Conference (IMC) 2025. This was a precious, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I could not afford to miss a single event at this conference, especially those related to my passion.

“Selamat Datang” at IMC 

On the IMC website, there was the phrase “Selamat Datang” – Indonesian for “Welcome,” which made me feel humbly welcomed by this global community space. It is an honor for a country from the Global South to have a place in international discussions, particularly regarding mountain studies.

I had spent several months preparing to attend this conference. If I were not part of the Moving Mountains Fellows from Mountain Sentinels, I would never have gained this golden opportunity. It felt truly impossible; a young woman born and raised in the rural mountains of Indonesia, an indigenous Bugis from the highlands of South Sulawesi, becoming a Fellow of this program. I do not hold a degree from an elite university; I only have certifications from capacity-building and leadership programs that I obtained online from international institutions over the past few years. Aside from the vast distance I traveled, even the chance to get to know this program felt unlikely. Being at IMC felt like standing on one of the 7 Summits of Indonesia. To reach it, I had to trek through diverse and challenging paths, not to mention the unpredictable weather conditions that often become obstacles at certain altitudes of Indonesia’s 7 Summits.

However, Mountain Sentinels trusted me to represent them at this year’s International Mountain Conference, and I feel so fortunate for the opportunity they provided. After being a fellow for one year, I was now at IMC carrying the voice of Indonesia’s rural mountain communities through my program, Project Sonorous, which is fully funded by Mountain Sentinels.

Knowledge Gaps

As a mountaineer in Indonesia, as well as a facilitator of sustainability and climate studies for local communities, I often find a wide chasm in mountain policies and studies, especially regarding sustainability and climate issues. In international journals, voices from Southeast Asian (SEA) mountains are very limited, as if mountains were only about glaciers and Western knowledge.

Although the SEA region possesses extraordinary biodiversity, the majority of literature is still dominated by studies in Europe (Alps), North America (Rockies), and East/South Asia (Himalayas & Tibetan Plateau). Research in SEA also focuses more heavily on deforestation issues. Another frequently encountered problem is “parachute science,” where the majority of environmental and ecosystem studies are led by researchers from outside the region (reaching up to 60-70%). This causes research agendas to often be out of sync with local needs or the traditional wisdom of the community.

Furthermore, there is a lack of long-term observation data in SEA mountains — especially in Indonesia, which is a mountainous region with the most active volcanic path in the world, the “Ring of Fire.” This means climate change modeling for this area often has higher levels of uncertainty compared to the Alpine region. 

Additionally, as Indonesia is an archipelagic nation, ecosystems on mountain peaks are isolated from one another by the sea or lowlands. This isolation can create very high levels of endemism (species that exist only in one place). If one mountain is damaged due to climate change or policies that do not align with the local biocultural context, species could go extinct forever because they have nowhere to “move.”

Hopes for Future IMC Focus

Mountains in Indonesia are the water towers and nests of rare biodiversity in the world, yet amidst this urgency, voices from Indonesian mountains often remain a “blind spot” in global science. This is where the importance of programs like Mountain Sentinels lies; allowing us, local practitioners, to have a voice at the international discussion table. Since then, my identity as a “Sentinel” (guardian) began to take root; not just guarding the ecosystem on the ground, but ensuring that the narratives of local communities stay alive and are heard on world stages like Innsbruck.

Attending a conference as large as IMC is an eye-opening experience, yet it also leaves some critical notes. Behind the successful presentations on glaciers and climate change, I found three crucial issues that were still minimally discussed and need to be priorities for future IMC events:

1. Youth and Education: Mountain discussions are often dominated by seniors in their fields, while the voices of the youth who will inherit this crisis have minimal space and access to speak. Youth from mountainous regions are faced with disaster mitigation and future water, food, and job crises, and therefore need more space to discuss how the impacts of the climate crisis affect their future.,. This includes education in mountain areas that will equip the younger generation to be agents of change, not just research objects.
2. Technology and Digital Transition: In an era of artificial intelligence and massive satellite data, discussions on how digital technology can be accessed inclusively by remote mountain communities are still severely lacking, especially in regions like Indonesia. How can this digital transition favor farmers or forest guardians in rural areas without creating new inequalities?
3. Geopolitics and Security: In Indonesia, mountains are more than just natural landscapes; with regions rich in minerals, they are border areas fraught with geopolitical tensions. Issues regarding food security, water sovereignty, and land conflicts in mountainous regions should receive a bolder and deeper portion of the discussion, given their direct impact on regional stability.

Rooted “Sentinels”

As I sat in the IMC discussion rooms and felt the lack of focus on the role of youth, I actually felt proud of my position as part of Mountain Sentinels. Through the Fellowship program, Mountain Sentinels has actually addressed what was “under-addressed” by the conference. Not to mention the fact that I was the only Indonesian attending the conference. 

This fellowship program is a tangible answer to Youth and Education issues, while also filling existing “gaps.” By providing support to young practitioners like myself, Mountain Sentinels is essentially investing directly in the people who will shape the future. We are given a platform to learn, network, and most importantly, the confidence to bring our local perspectives to the global arena. My presence in Innsbruck is proof that this model of youth empowerment is what should be expanded in international forums.

 For young practitioners from developing countries, there are often psychological barriers or imposter syndrome when in international forums. We often feel our knowledge is not “sophisticated” enough. However, through this journey, I gained confidence and I learned that diversity of perspective is the most valuable currency in science. Mountain Sentinels helped me see that my field experience, interactions with communities on mountain slopes, and efforts to document local knowledge are real contributions to global science. I was not just there as an observer; I was there as a translator for non-state actors, as a delegate of a local reality on the ground, an indigenous mountain person, that the world needs to understand.

Sustained Responsibility

Upon my return to Indonesia last September, I carried a new responsibility. As a “Sentinel,” my journey must not end at the airport gate. I am committed to continuing to lead Project Sonorous to strengthen mountain communities between Indonesia and developed nations such as those in Europe, Norway, America, Canada, and New Zealand.

However, mountain issues in Indonesia are complex. Deforestation on mountain slopes is not just about lost trees (Biology), but also about poverty (Economics), land disputes (Geopolitics), and the loss of cultural identity (Anthropology). Without collaboration, the solutions offered will only be temporary “band-aids” that do not heal the root of the problem.

The facts on the ground show, for example, that local communities already know when a storm is coming simply by observing animal behavior or wind direction. Interdisciplinary collaboration ensures this knowledge is not dismissed, but rather integrated into early warning systems based on innovation and technology. Disciplinary boundaries must dissolve to create new solutions. For instance, using satellite data (Technology) to help coffee farmers (Economics) adapt to shifts in the rainy season (Climatology) told through local narratives (Communication).

This is where the role of non-state actor narratives like mine comes in: bridging the local space with institutional, policy, and scientific languages. Much great research in Indonesia remains as collections in campus libraries and paywalled journals. Collaboration between academics, practitioners, and organizations like Mountain Sentinels ensures that science “comes down from the mountain” and becomes policy or real action in society.

 The True Meaning of the “Moving Mountains” Fellowship

We can no longer rely on a single discipline to save mountain ecosystems. Cross-sector collaboration between tech-savvy youth, social researchers who understand geopolitics, and local communities as frontline guardians is the only way out. The Moving Mountains Fellowship program has initiated this step by embracing a diversity of backgrounds, proving that the best solutions are born when we dare to break down the walls of sectoral egos for a more resilient future for mountains. 

I want to ensure that when the next International Mountain Conference is held, the gaps regarding youth, technology, and geopolitics have begun to close. And I want to see even more young “Sentinels” from all parts of the world standing there, telling their own stories with their heads held high.

Thank you to Mountain Sentinels for believing in my vision, and the vision of all of us as Moving Mountains Fellows. This journey from the Nusantara to the Alps has changed the way I see the world, and more importantly, the way I see my role within it.

 We are the guardians, and our task has only just begun.