Women Affirmed to Play Crucial Role in Strengthening Resilience Against Climate Crisis, Here's the Explanation

Women are affirmed to play a key role in preserving forests while strengthening resilience against the climate crisis. They serve as the main drivers in sustainable social forestry practices.

This issue is spotlighted in the book Echoes of Partnership, published by KONEKSI (the Australia–Indonesia Knowledge Partnership Platform). The book summarises the journey of collaborative research between Indonesia and Australia in addressing increasingly complex climate challenges.

Through 20 collaborative research projects, Echoes of Partnership demonstrates that climate solutions depend on technology, policy, and who is involved in the process. The involvement of vulnerable groups that have been underrepresented, including women, is key to creating more inclusive and impactful climate solutions.

BRIN researcher Dr. Lilis Mulyani emphasises that women’s involvement in social forestry has significant impacts on both ecosystem sustainability and community livelihoods.

In her research titled Evaluating the Contribution of Social Forestry Management Rights towards Climate Proof Livelihoods of Women and Men in Indonesia, she found that women are often at the forefront in safeguarding forests.

“In many places, there are women champions. Besides being at the forefront in protecting forests from illegal logging practices, women also play an active role in caring for and maintaining forest sustainability,” said Lilis at the launch of the book Echoes of Partnership in Jakarta, quoted from her statement on Friday, 10 April 2026.

Normatively, Lilis continued, social forestry regulations have actually provided equal space for women and men. This is reflected in the Minister of Forestry Regulations of 2021 and 2024. However, in practice, this equality has not yet been fully realised in the field.

She added that women’s involvement can even extend to efforts to preserve biodiversity, while men tend to be more involved in the economic aspects of forest utilisation. Therefore, Lilis encourages more affirmative policies, including setting targets for women’s involvement up to 20-30% in social forestry.

Other research featured in the book Echoes of Partnership highlights the importance of cross-stakeholder collaboration with local communities in promoting a transition to a more climate-resilient circular economy.