When she was a child, Ibu Wati says she could predict the weather using the Javanese calendar ‘pranata mangsa’. She could determine crops would need to be planted, the length of time needed for growth and the time to harvest in Desa Susukan, a village in Banjarnegara, Central Java, a district known for its lush forest and produce. But recent changes to climate patterns and the devastating loss of income, following catastrophic weather conditions, has meant she and other women in her community have struggled to sustain their livelihoods while balancing their household responsibilities.

The changing climate brought about a long period of drought last year. She was forced to carry water from the hills nearby to help water her fields – in addition to needing to take care of her children and her other domestic responsibilities.

Understanding the ways that climate change affects women differently than men is vital. Climate change has gender‐specific impacts on health, survival and basic human rights. For many women, there is a significant increase in work, limitations for development opportunities, increased poverty, and a decline in personal safety, autonomy and decision‐making power. When climate variability results in crop loss, women have fewer coping strategies. Most women had few or no animals to sell, had no access to capital or credit, and are unable to perform labour roles in urban areas. Women who are caretakers of the household also suffer an increased burden in providing basic needs during this changing climate, while their ability to make decisions and lead climate mitigation and adaptation efforts is limited.

Desa Susukan has been chosen to participate in the Ministry of Environment’s agroforestry program . Agroforestry advocates for tree-planting in between the crops, which could improve water catchment, reduce carbon emissions, and strengthen the soil structure of the land that is vulnerable to landslides.

The agroforestry program has been implemented for three years but did not involve the participation of the whole community.

“The meeting for the tree planting project only involved male farmers. We only had the option to follow our husbands’ decision, and help plant trees afterwards”. Here, only male farmers are allowed to be part of the farmers’ group. From the beginning of this project she has not been involved in capacity building , or decision-making. She has not been involved in selecting which trees to grow─ although she is a farmer.

Ibu Wati’s story is an example of the challenges encountered by many women across Indonesia. There are several government programs that are gender-blind, meaning they do not consider the different roles and diverse needs of women and men. These programs maintain the status quo and will not help transform the unequal structure of cultural gender relations. 2 However, studies of women’s involvement in conservation programs have showed that more inclusive processes could yield more equitable outcomes and tend to demonstrate better environmental performance. 

In response, UNDP through the Sustainable Development Financing Phase 2 project together with Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) has conducted research to develop gender indicators which hopefully will enable the government programs to be more gender sensitive and support women farmers like Ibu Wati. The research highlights gender indicators that can be incorporated into performance-based budgeting systems and can also inform project and programme design.

Alongside Indonesia’s Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection, the project has also conducted training on gender-responsive climate finance and encouraged implementation of budget tagging as a means of tracking and identifying gender responsive climate change projects.

It is hoped that this effort will optimize the implementation of the government programs to benefit both women and men, and consequently reduce inequality.

-

Writing by Aghnia Dima Rochmawati

Edited by Ranjit Jose and Suryo Utomo Tomi