Indonesia

1. Introduction

Indonesia commits to tackle climate change by ratifying Paris Agreement, as it is also aligned with Article 28H of Indonesia’s Constitution about state obligation to guarantee decent life and a healthy environment for all citizens. Indonesia’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) outlines the concerted effort to prevent a 2 degrees C increase in global average temperature and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees C above pre-industrial levels.

Although most of the content from the first NDC and updated NDC share the same strategies, here are a couple of key points from the latest NDC:

• Unconditional reduction: reduce 29% by 2030 (2.87 GtCO2e by 2030) and could increase to 41% by 2030 for conditional reduction with the help from international support (until now REDD+ plays an important role as support).

• Utilization of renewable energy and waste/garbage for energy production as constituted by Presidential Decree Number 97/2017.

2. National Context on Gender-Based Policy and Cross-Cutting Measures

Indonesia has Pancasila as a foundational philosophical theory to implicitly declare gender equality while the 1945 State Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia article 27 states: (i) All citizens shall be equal before the law and the government and shall be required to respect the law and the government, with no exceptions; (ii) Every citizen shall have the right to work and to earn a humane livelihood, and (iii) Each citizen shall have the right and duty to participate in the effort of defending the state.

As the continuation towards legally-binding law forces, Indonesia has ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) to combat gender inequality and injustice, which is later to be reinforced under Presidential Instruction No. 9/2000 regarding Gender Mainstreaming into National Development - Emphasizing specific planning on a gender-responsive budget and gender budget tagging; gender role in accessing water and sanitation; and gender equality in climate adaptation. In the policy implementation level, updated Indonesia’s National Medium Term Development Plans (RPJMN 2020-2024) has concluded several gender indicators to achieve its goals, viz: (i) gender mainstreaming index (Indeks Pengarusutamaan Gender/IPG), (ii) gender empowerment index (Indeks Pemberdayaan Gender/IDG), (iii) eradication of all forms of violence to woman, and (iv) family development index (Indeks Pembangunan Keluarga/IPK).

Furthermore, Indonesia submits Long-Term Strategy for Low Carbon and Climate Resilience 2050 (LTS-LCCR 2050) under mandatory by The Paris Agreement to contribute towards GHG emissions reduction within a half-century and to strengthen Indonesia’s Vision 2045 in achieving climate resilience and economic development; taking into consideration the issues on just transition, gender, inter-generation, the needs of vulnerable groups, adat communities (Masyarakat Hukum Adat) and the local community. In the context of Indonesia’s Updated Nationally Determined Contribution, The LTS-LCCR 2050 acts as a strong basis policy to create gender mapping issues in climate policy; enhancing women’s role in development, capacity, and leadership through NDC implementation and development. 

3. Mitigation

The accentuation on mitigation action measures will affect adaptation costs, especially in dealing with loss and damage caused by climate catastrophe. Indonesia seeks to continue the efforts to reduce emissions, focusing on forest-and-land and energy sectors as much as 97.2%. Hence, policy implementation for NDC is expected to integrate mitigation in five (5) main category sectors, including forestry, energy, IPPU, waste, and agriculture. Both sectors are grouped into two (2) modeling stages called AFOLU (agriculture, forestry, and other land uses) and Non-AFOLU (energy, waste, and Industrial Processes and Product Use). The modeling analyzes economic impacts, food and energy demands by considering key factors on the current economic situation and population growth. Therefore, Indonesia predicts to achieve a net sink in forestry and other land uses (FOLU) sectors by 2030; and explore opportunities to rapidly progress towards net-zero emission by 2060 or sooner.

Highlighting gender perspective into mitigation pathways, it is crucial that women’s participation is hindered by power and social norm. Whilst, women shall contribute to the pattern of energy, waste, and natural resource management insight. In forestry, environmental degradation and deforestation could affect women’s livelihood. For the household food production, women could produce 70-80% through agriculture fields. Women are also encouraged to lead for renewable energy solutions, while the fact 24.5 million households still rely on firewood for cooking and 25% of their time spent for wood collection. Access to renewable and affordable energy could help women in avoiding 165.000 estimation numbers of premature death due to indoor pollution.

4. Adaptation

Indonesia has made a significant effort to build regional and sectors resilience towards safeguarding food, water, and energy resources through a framework for adaptation initiative developed and implemented under National Action Plan on Climate Change Adaptation. Minister for Environment and Forestry issues Ministry Regulation No.33/2016 providing guidance for national governments and local governments in planning climate change adaptation actions and integrating them into development plans of specific regions and/or sectors. In focus on three main areas (economic resilience, social and livelihood resilience, and ecosystem and landscape resilience), Indonesia sets goals to reduce risks, enhance adaptive capacity, strengthen resilience and reduce vulnerability to climate change.

Specifically for the gender program, securing access to key natural resources in the capacity of participation, equity, and balance requires:

1. Awareness campaigns, education, training in natural resource management as a source of income. Taking into consideration green jobs, food security, funding accessibility, and supporting gender leadership.

2. Identification, development, and implementation of best practices on risk management and sustainable utilization of natural resources, including water, renewable energy, and environmental health.

Covering local phenomena, the customary justice system (Adat) plays a key responsibility to reduce women's leadership in climate change. Patriarchy structures often exist to encourage men as indigenous leaders and overlook women from running the same. The result affects impartial justice to women facing domestic violence and land rights disputes. Female indigenous leaders are necessary to take part in the transition since most women confidently express Adat issues to women leaders. Besides, women play pivotal roles in securing the sustainability of family livelihoods such as keeping seeds for farmland restoration to ensure food security and managing waste to reduce food loss and environmental damage.

5. Planning Process

Indonesia establishes the Directorate General of Climate Change, under the Ministry of Environment and Forestry to serve as the National Focal Point for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to effectively facilitate ongoing relevant programmes and processes being implemented by a variety of government sectors and stakeholders. Together with the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, National Development Planning Agency (BAPPENAS), Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Government of Indonesia creates simultaneous synergy and coordination to tackle climate change in local, national, and international contexts. Supporting gender leadership governmental sector, Sri Mulyani Indarwati, S.E., M.Sc., Ph.D. has been appointed as Minister of Finance, Retno Lestari Priansari Marsudi, S.I.P., LL.M. has been appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Dr. Ir. Siti Nurbaya Bakar, M.Sc. has been appointed as Minister of Environment and Forest.

Further, Indonesia has conducted various consultations with key stakeholders representing Ministries and other government institutions, academia, scientists, private sector, and civil society organizations to achieve gender equality to update NDC through local and national context.

5.a Approaches

As a democratic country, Indonesia has applied an integral comprehensive, and holistic policy to maintain and enhance national resilience, which – in nature - requires inter-regional, inter-sectoral and multi-disciplinary approaches. Indonesia’s NDC predicated four (4) foundational principles through a strategic approach:

1) Employing a landscape approach: Recognizing that climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts are inherently multi-sectoral in nature, Indonesia takes an integrated, landscape-scale approach covering terrestrial, coastal, and marine ecosystems.

2) Highlighting existing best practices: recognizing significant strides in multi-stakeholder efforts in combating climate change, Indonesia intends to scale up the diversity of traditional wisdom as well as innovative climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts by the government, private sector, and communities.

3) Mainstreaming climate agenda into development planning: recognizing the need to integrate climate change into the development and spatial planning and budgeting process, Indonesia includes key climate change indicators in formulating its development programme’s targets.

4) Promoting climate resilience in food, water, and energy: recognizing the importance of fulfilling the needs of a growing young population for food, water, and energy, Indonesia will improve its management of natural resources to enhance climate resilience by protecting and restoring key terrestrial, coastal and marine ecosystems.

In regards to gender policy analysis, a gender-responsive approach is required to introduce new agricultural technologies and develop alternative livelihood strategies to achieve ideal climate change control targets. According to the updated NDC, gender-based approaches include the development and implementation of appropriate mechanisms for community participation; and ensuring community interests that include gender in the development plan.

5.b Gender Circumstances and Gaps

COVID19 has affected global health, social and economic aspects, overburdening families with food security, air pollution, and also climate change. In the 2nd quarter of 2020, Indonesia experienced economic contraction with a GDP growth rate of minus 5.3%. Depth-diving into gender economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment, The Global Gender Gap Index (GGGI) ranks Indonesia 88th out of 144 countries. Women only own 35% of small to mid-sized enterprises from a total of 95% of the Indonesian labor market. At the moment, women are also posing challenges by environmental pollution from smallholder farmers practicing ‘slash and burn’ in the agriculture sector causing hotspots in peatland.

6. Means of Implementation

Finance, technology development and transfer, and capacity building are an integral part of the Paris Agreement, which refers to Articles 9, 10, and 11. The three components should be coherently provided through cooperative and coordinated linkages among relevant entities.

6.a Finance

Indonesia established a national agency environmental funding management, known as BPDLH (Badan Pengelola Dana Lingkungan) to manage and mobilize incoming grants from various resources such as national and international sources, private and public sources, bilateral and multilateral channels. Through a gender-responsive manner, mainstreaming gender in both public and private funding is considered important; as the outreach and collaboration on gender-budget tagging will alternatively contribute to economic empowerment, ecosystem restoration, conservation, and reduced GHG emissions. The government in comprehensive ways needs to strengthen communication, capacity, and collaboration with key gender-based stakeholders to awaken the enthusiasm of Indonesia’s economy from the pandemic situation.

6.b Technology Development and Transfer

Indonesia embarked on a Technology Needs Assessment (TNA) covering both mitigation and adaptation to support NDC implementation. Indonesia also calls for international support and collaboration in research, development, and demonstration (RD & D) of innovative technologies and strengthening endogenous technology, local wisdom, and best practices. Technology has been acknowledged and integrated into key sectors like agriculture, forestry, energy, marine, waste, and GHG emission reduction which affects gender directly and indirectly. Further utilization of technology mechanisms should be mainstreamed in enriching gender capacity and capability.

6.c Capacity Building

Enhance synergy and transformational changes in the capacity building have also been more obvious at the national level, as implied in the mitigation and adaptation pathway scenarios. For example, the transition in the energy sector which requires a transition of the workforce to green jobs need well- designed capacity development taking into account for women workforce rate 48.9%; similarly for other mitigation sectors, adaptation, and for addressing cross-cutting issues (include just transition, gender, intergenerational, and vulnerable groups, MHA and local communities). A preliminary assessment on capacity building needs was done in 2018-2019 as part of the national capacity building and technology needs assessment (CBTNA), which can be enhanced as part of the capacity building road map. There are two instruments of capacity building that support NDC implementation. The first instrument (General Instrument) will focus on integrating climate change into the national system on education, training, and other forms of capacity building, while the second instrument (Technical Instrument) will focus on capacity building programs for both state and non-state actors in mitigation and adaptation.

7. Young Feminist Perspectives and Key Recommendation

As the population in Indonesia has reached 270.20 million in 2020 with a GDP minus 5.3% compared to 5.02% in 2019, considering pandemic disruption, the rise in food, jobs, and energy demand cannot be stopped. Meanwhile, the women population of productive age 15-34 years reached 34,607,700 people. It would increase vulnerability if the disproportional challenges remain without any proper action. Otherwise, there is still no certain instrument, policy, or implementation featuring young feminists in Indonesia’s NDC development and implementation.

Following the 4th foundational principle on Updated NDC’s strategic approach,

“Promoting climate resilience in food, water and energy: recognizing the importance of fulfilling the needs of a growing young population for food, water and energy, Indonesia will improve its management of natural resources to enhance climate resilience by protecting and restoring key terrestrial, coastal and marine ecosystems.”

Some key recommendations have been formulated with the focus centered on young feminist participation and engagement for the development and implementation of Indonesia’s NDC.

1. Promoting young feminist participation through various mechanisms in the development and implementation of Indonesia’s NDC.

2. Supporting state and non-state actors collaboration in mainstreaming young feminist terms in all sectors.

3. Advocating inclusivity of youth and gender engagement through consultations at the local and national levels.

4. Encouraging government in integrating climate-related agenda into Indonesia’s NDC in addition of young feminist appropriate manners.

8. Sources

• Updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) Republic of Indonesia

• Indonesia Long Term Strategy For Low Carbon And Climate Resilience 2050 (Indonesia LTS-LCCR 2050)

• Visi Indonesia 2045

• Rencana Kerja Pemerintah Tahun 2019

• Change Makers: Programming For Gender Equality And Helping Men And Women In Indonesia Shape A Fairer World – Gender Equality Strategy And Action Plan (2017-2020)

• Strategi Implementasi Nationally Determined Contribution (2017)

• Third National Communication (TNC) Republic of Indonesia (2017)

• Pedoman Umum Adaptasi Perubahan Iklim Yang Responsif Gender (2015)

• National Action Plan for Climate Change Adaptation (RAN-API)

• Policy Brief – Gender Equality