Jakarta (Greeners) – Women suffer the most in relation to natural resources destruction or exploitation. Siti Maimunah, researcher and coordinator of Sajogyo Institute Scholarship Program, said women, who have closeness with natural resources, were prone to impacts of natural resources in the past.

Maimunah cited on water access issue where women, in the context of obligated to provide for the family, have closeness to water hence need larger amount of water. But, as those rights are denied due to exploitation, it will lead to the destruction of women’s living space.

READ ALSO: Households Bear High Health Risks From Solid Fuels

On several places, there are tough women capable to take leadership to save and restore environmental destruction. Hence, Maimunah added, it is important to place women as lead actor in the struggle.

Furthermore, she said women’s role in environmental struggle was still facing obstacles different with male’s such as the example of Alleta Baun of Mollo, East Nusa Tenggara.

Aletta Baun required to go at nights to organize her villagers and became police’s target. She had been labelled as prostitute and irresponsible mother which would not occur in male fighters.

“There are other examples of obstacles and challenges faced by women which are probably don’t happen to males,” she said in Jakarta on Tuesday (11/7).

To discuss issues related to social ecological crisis, women efforts and fights to save and protect the country, Sajogyo Institute and Ath-Tharig Islamic Boarding School, held Homeland Women Fighters Jamboree, on July 14-16, in Garut.

Maimunah said this jamboree will provide space for women with experiences to fight for their environment and succeeded to women who want to learn from them.

Director of Sajogyo Institute, Eko Cahyono, said the jamboree is the hub for lesson learning and share experiences among women from all backgrounds, starting from housewives, farmers, business women, head of villages, writers, film makers, government officials and many others.

The event also aims to give a chance for women to share their social ecological crises stories in their villages. The participants come from all regions in Indonesia, including scholarship recipients of Agrarian Studies and Women Empowerment (SAPP), representatives from districts of North Aceh, South Aceh, Ogan Komering Ilir, Tojo Una-una, Donggala, Sigi, Palu, Melawi, Kapuas Hulu, Kutai Kartanegara, Bulungan, North Maluku, Tabanan Bali, Bogor, Garut, Flores, South Timor Tengah, Pati, and cities of Samarinda and Jakarta.

READ ALSO: 2.7 Million Hectares of Forest Loss After Six Years of Moratorium Implementation

On its study, Sajogyo Institute reveals a new chapter on agrarian struggle and women.

Cahyono said that there were three chapters, at least, of Indonesian women’s struggles, starting from struggle against colonialism, second, women struggle in development era, and the third or new chapter on women’s role against their own country from a new regime called neo-colonialism.

“Main characteristic of this new chapter is women’s struggles are faced with commodification of agrarian sources. Trading agrarian sources to become market commodity eventually these extractive industries, either mining or plantation, enter further in the villages,” he said.

The event will also produce publications on knowledge, from learning lesson on women and agrarian for the past two years, in the form of picture book “Picture of Women Agrarian”, “Women Celebrates Struggles in The Country” white book, “Women in Agrarian Struggle” — Study Group Thematic, village profile book: “The Struggle To Change Fate”, then movie launch of “The Words of Homeland Women Fighters”.

Reports by Danny Kosasih

Jakarta (Greeners) – President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo said that the welfare of 10,2 million people living in the forests areas was far from achieved due to legal aspects in forest management.

Consequently, President Jokowi requested for local people to plant silk tree (Albiza chinensis) in the forests areas. It is considered as an effective way to gain economical benefits.

“I recorded 25,863 villages, inside and surrounding, forests areas, which 70 percent of them rely on forest resources,” he said in Pulang Pisau district of Central Kalimantan, on Tuesday (20/12).

READ ALSO: Indonesia Prepares Grand Design on Forest Fires Prevention

Furthermore, he said that social forestry is a concept that should be giving benefits to people, farmers and cooperation. Its target is to ensure forestry sector gain its golden ages by ensuring people’s concession right holders.

He appraised the collaboration set up in Buntoi village which would bring certainty on market and industry that would accept their products. He added that all purchases and sales must apply reasonable prices.

Meanwhile, Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya said that the collaboration was set up between People’s Plantation Forest with wood industry to market Buntoi Village products. To support the industry, a factory will be built in the area with the investment projection reaches one trillion rupiah.

READ ALSO: Minimum Participation of Indigenous Peoples in Tackling Climate Change

On this collaboration, Minister Siti underlined for silk trees planted by local people must be supported by the industry to ensure its sustainability and interaction established between village forest and industries.

“We will conduct working meeting to finalize the support to local people to conduct better forest management and to produce commodity without destroying the forests,” she said. “There will be Forest Management Unit (KPH) and Public Service Agency which are part of capacity building if they want to sell their products in accordance with SVLK.”

Reports by Danny Kosasih

Jakarta (Greeners) – In the effort to tackle climate change, there’s still lack of involvement from indigenous peoples to manage natural resources in Indonesia, said a forester, in Jakarta, on Saturday (17/12).

Emil Kleden, scientist of Forest People Program, said that there were still no climate change related regulations which have included people’s participation despite it could serve as controlling mechanism over the government from public.

“This non-participation policies have been seen in the last two regimes, SBY administration and Jokowi administration which often dubbed as pro with tackling climate change,” he said.

READ ALSO: Indigenous Women Must Be Included at Climate Change Negotiations

Based on HuMa research, only five laws related to climate change which stipulated further policies on people’s participation, either on Government Regulation and Ministerial Regulation.

Dahniar Andriani, Executive Director of HuMa, said that there were 12 implementing policies have not included people’s participation at all.

Furthermore, she said that indigenous peoples have long protect the forests and reserved traditional knowledge which serve as ecological mitigation. Dahniar said that there was inconsistency in law enforcement. “For example, MK35. Not one customary forest has been assigned by the state,” she said.

READ ALSO: Environment Law Enforcement Must Involve Public in 2016

Sardi Razak, Indigenous Peoples’ Alliance of the Archipelago, North Sulawesi chapter, said that Pasang ri Kajang customary law which was upheld by Ammatoa Kajang indigenous peoples was one of the example of their contribution to fight climate change.

Razak said that two administrations have only treated law enforcement as mere legal products. Without implementation, there will be new conflicts and it would ended up as junk of law.

“The government will face difficulties to implement good governance and new problems will rise as overlapping regulations and minimum implementation,” he said adding it would make the government hard to implement its programs leading to loss of trust from the people.

Reports by Danny Kosasih

Jakarta (Greeners) – Local knowledge and wisdom of indigenous women in natural resources management are practised and developed as much as their roles as guardian of their family and community’s livelihood.

The local wisdom include the use of plants for fabric and natural dyes, for medicine, for emission friendly agriculture or plantation.

Mina Susana Setra, Deputy I of Indonesian Indigenous Peoples Alliance or AMAN said that indigenous women were categorized in prone groups with children, elderly and disable people at the climate change negotiations especially adaptation and mitigation.

“Indigenous women should have special protection such as in the implementation of REDD+ or in conservation isssue which evicted indigenous women from their lands,” she said in a press statement to Greeners in Jakarta, on Saturday (21/11).

The key to empowerment, she said, was acknowledgement of their knowledge and wisdom in managing natural resources which have been long neglected.

If these are fulfilled then Indonesia’s natural resources inside customary lands can be protected.

However, Khairina Arif of Woman’s Divison, North Sumatra region stated that oil palm plantation over their area have destroyed the legacy of knowledge from indigenous women which have been passed on to many generations with less documentation to complicate the problem.

“As the case of Penunggu community which demanded full recognition over oil palm plantation owned by PT LONSUM to be re-managed as agricultural land which combines hardwood plants to recover the soil and be more adaptive,” she said.

Reports by Danny Kosasih