Monika Baton

Monika, a marine activist and community development practitioner, has dedicated her efforts to protecting marine areas with POKMASWAS (community monitoring groups) since gaining experience working in conservation NGOs previously. Her work focuses on monitoring marine and coastal areas, restoring coral reef ecosystems, educating young people and children, and increasing community capacity. Monika firmly believes that the role of the community is crucial in protecting the coastal area of East Flores. Therefore, together with the Head of Larantuka Village, Monika formed the Larantuka Village POKMASWAS in 2023 to invite fishermen and local communities to participate in protecting the Larantuka Sea Coastal area from destructive fishing activities. One of Monika's achievements with POKMASWAS in Larantuka Village is the Bekal Pemimpin cohort 3 award from the United in Diversity Foundation (UID) in 2023.

With a Bachelor's Degree in Biology from Gadjah Mada University, Monika has been interested in diving since her university days and currently holds a professional Rescue Diver certificate from PSS (Professional Scuba School) Indonesia. Passionate about the sea, Monika loves working with communities and children. She dreams that all children and coastal communities can live harmoniously with the sea. Monika and her team have planned a “sea school” program to improve children's water skills, aiming to prepare them for disaster response at an early age.

Through the INSPIRASI program, Monika aims to understand the important role of local communities in New Zealand in managing natural resources in a fair and sustainable manner. She seeks to explore how civil society organizations and governments influence policy-making to address various environmental issues, especially those concerning the sea.