Climate Change Policies Urged to Integrate Biodiversity Protection
The KEHability Foundation is urging that national climate change policies should not only be oriented towards emission reductions but also integrate the protection of biodiversity and the interests of the community, particularly groups most vulnerable to the climate crisis.
This push was conveyed through a policy brief titled “Climate Change, Biodiversity and Society: A Critical Review and Recommendations for Climate Policy Focus in Indonesia”. The study was prepared by the KEHATI Foundation in collaboration with researchers from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), and the AKATIGA Social Analysis Centre.
KEHATI assesses that climate change has triggered various impacts, ranging from rising sea levels, droughts, forest and land fires, to floods and the loss of biodiversity. These impacts are considered most severely felt by indigenous peoples, the poor, persons with disabilities, children, and other vulnerable groups.
This condition is seen as an issue of climate justice. Groups of people whose contribution to carbon emissions is relatively small are instead facing much larger impacts due to climate change.
On the other asides, climate change and biodiversity have a mutually influencing relationship. Biodiversity serves as a natural carbon sink, while climate change can accelerate the destruction and extinction of various species. The degradation of these ecosystems ultimately has the potential to worsen the impacts of climate change while reducing the quality of life for communities.
In the policy brief, KEHATI identifies four main gaps in national climate policy.
First, the fragmentation of climate change governance. According to the study, attention to climate issues is not uniform across all ministries, agencies, or local governments. Collaboration between the government, local authorities, civil society organisations, academics, and indigenous communities needs to be strengthened.
Second, the issue of policy priority and continuity. Climate policies are deemed to focus more heavily on mitigation, while adaptation efforts for vulnerable communities, coastal areas, and dryland agriculture have not received comparable attention or funding. This is despite the fact that floods, droughts, changes in planting seasons, and saltwater intrusion have already caused social and economic impacts. KEHATI also highlighted that the implementation of climate budget tagging remains more oriented towards mitigation programmes.
Third, social justice and biodiversity. Communities that produce relatively small amounts of emissions are bearing the brunt of climate change impacts. Simultaneously, biodiversity, which plays a vital role in climate change mitigation and adaptation, has not received adequate attention.
Fourth, the sub-optimal synchronisation of climate policy with development policy. KEHATI highlighted development policies that have the potential to increase environmental pressure and greenhouse gas emissions, including projects related to the clearing of forested areas.
To respond to these issues, the KEHATI Foundation has proposed seven recommendations as input for the formulation of climate change management regulations. These seven recommendations include the full and consistent application of a sustainable development paradigm; the integration of climate change management with biodiversity conservation; and the implementation of a more ambitious and equitable energy transition.
KEHATI also encourages the development of green economic incentives for both producers and consumers, the strengthening of local food systems to face the threat of food crises caused by climate change, the construction of climate-resilient public health systems, and the strengthening of governance in handling climate change.
These inputs emerge amidst the discussion process of climate change regulations in the House of Representatives (DPR). In September 2026, Commission XII of the DPR stated they were studying the academic paper and the draft Climate Change Bill alongside the government. Previously, the harmonisation process of the Climate Change Management Bill was delayed in February 2026 to avoid overlap with the revision of the Environmental Protection and Management Act.
KEHATI Programme Director Rony Megawanto emphasised the importance of maintaining a balance between mitigation and adaptation strategies in climate change regulations.
“This Climate Change Management Bill must be able to maintain a balance between mitigation and adaptation efforts. So far, our adaptation strategy has focused on reducing the risks of climate change. However, there are other strategies that need to be mainstreamed in adaptation efforts, namely utilising the opportunities arising from climate change (climate opportunities),” said Rony Megawanto, Programme Director of the KEHATI Foundation.