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🇮🇩 Indonesia /Environment & Climate

BRIN Pushes Green Skills for Society 5.0: What Are They?

From Tempo · () Indonesian

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Indonesia's National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) urges mastery of green skills for the Society 5.0 era to address conservation challenges.
  • BRIN Head Arif Satria highlighted humanity and ecosystem sustainability as key pillars of Society 5.0, emphasizing the growing threat of climate change.
  • Green skills are vital for research and the private sector, with applications in areas like wildlife conservation, exemplified by the critically endangered Sumatran rhinoceros.

Arif Satria, head of Indonesia's National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), stressed the critical need for the nation's workforce to acquire "green skills." These environmentally friendly competencies are essential for navigating conservation challenges within the Society 5.0 framework, a future civilization prioritizing humanity and ecosystem sustainability.

When we talk about Society 5.0, the two keywords are humanity and sustainability. Nowadays, people is starting to rethink the meaning of sustainability as the threat of climate change has become a daily reality.

— Arif SatriaExplaining the core principles of Society 5.0 and the growing urgency around climate change.

Speaking at the 2026 Sarwono Award and Sarwono Memorial Lecture, Satria explained that Society 5.0, a concept originating from Japan, envisions a human-centered, "super-smart society" where technology enhances human well-being and resolves social issues. He noted that the urgency of climate change has prompted a reevaluation of sustainability's meaning.

Green skills are essential both for today and the future, so these green skills are not only needed in academia, but also in the private sector.

— Arif SatriaHighlighting the broad applicability and importance of green skills across different sectors.

Satria emphasized that green skills are not only crucial for academic research but also for the private sector. He pointed to wildlife conservation as a prime example, citing the dire situation of the Sumatran rhinoceros, with only about 50 individuals remaining in the wild. Protecting such endangered species, he argued, requires more than traditional methods, necessitating collaborative efforts and advanced technologies like Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART), which has seen success in Kenya.

That is why technologies such as Assisted Reproductive Technology, or ART, have been developed and successfully deployed in Kenya.

— Arif SatriaIllustrating how advanced technology can be applied to conservation efforts, using the Sumatran rhinoceros as an example.

Furthermore, Satria encouraged researchers to draw inspiration from nature's mechanics through biomimicry. He suggested that nature's principles of diversity, interdependence, and interconnectedness offer valuable lessons for human social interactions and can even surpass artificial intelligence in providing technological insights. He urged Indonesian researchers to adapt their work to natural ecosystems, viewing nature's processes as a source of innovation.

Nature has already taught us how to coexist, and its philosophy and characteristics can inspire how we structure our social life.

— Arif SatriaAdvocating for biomimicry and learning from nature's principles for social and technological innovation.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Tempo. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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