Advocacy at the National Level: C4Ledger Consortium Conducts a Visit and Dialogue with Bappenas
By C4Ledger - Indonesia
Consortium for Knowledge Management Brokers (C4Ledger) led by the Consortium for Participatory Study and Development (KONSEPSI) West Nusa Tenggara, together with the Institute for Community Research and Empowerment (LP2M) West Sumatra, Way Seputih Conservation Foundation (YKWS) Lampung, TRANSFORM NTB, the East Nusa Tenggara Village Development and Empowerment Advocacy Bengkel (APPEK), and the East Flores Social Research and Development Foundation (YPPS) held a national level dialogue with Ministry of National Development Planning of the Republic of Indonesia (Bappenas) to share information and discuss issues related to increasing community climate resilience.
Dr Vivi Yulaswati, MSc, Deputy for Maritime Affairs and Natural Resources of Bappenas, highly appreciated this activity and emphasised the need for locally and contextually based solutions and collaboration and synergy between sectors and other parties.
“Integration synergy is the key for the province, including local values. When we are considered good, support will come. I hope that Indonesia will also become a model for locally based sustainable development, so it’s not just in the form of documents but the need for action”, she stated.
On this occasion, the C4Ledger Consortium also involved representatives of the regional government of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) province, in this case, the NTT Provincial Environment and Forestry Office and Bappelitbangda Lembata. It should be noted that the NTT province is one of the intervention areas for the Indonesian VCA programme from 2021 to 2025. As a result, this activity is very important to convey the various aspirations of voices at the grassroots level through best practices, challenges and lessons learned during the VCA programme, especially in the NTT area.
Sherley Wila Huky from the NTT Provincial Environment and Forestry Office said that her party is currently in the process of preparing planning documents, especially the Regional Long-Term Development Plan (RPJPD), which is being carried out at the provincial level, with reference to the National Long Term Development Plan (RPJPN). The issue of climate change has also been integrated into the planning document, with various best practices that partners in East Nusa Tenggara Province have implemented included in it.
Huky also conveyed the various challenges that arise at the regional level, one of which is that forest fires are caused by a mixture of human and natural factors, with most fires triggered by human actions to clear land.
“The causes of fires in our area come from humans and nature. It was identified that many cases of forest fires were deliberately set on fire, but these were burned for a reason. Because the condition of our land is quite difficult during the planting season, burning the land is considered the quickest way to clear the land and prepare the land,” she explained.
Meanwhile, Sahali, a representative of Bappelitbangda Lembata, expressed the high poverty rate, especially among fishermen and farmers, even though natural resources are abundant. The agricultural sector is dominated by dry crops such as corn, palawija, and sorghum, which are very vulnerable to weather changes. Meanwhile, in the fisheries sector, problems arise in terms of transactions of fishermen’s catches at sea, which do not benefit fishermen, with management that still needs to be optimal.
Sahali also added that the impact of climate change is being felt significantly by farmers and fishermen, especially by most of the population living in highland areas where water is difficult to access. Water distribution uses the hydro method because the available electricity is insufficient to cover needs.
“Currently, in our area, there is a long dry season, there is only one water source, and it is hot because of high sulfur, and the budget for salinisation is insufficient. Moreover, the impact of climate change is very significant on farmers and fishermen, and the majority of our population lives in the highlands. It is difficult to accommodate water up and electricity is not sufficient to cover it, so we use the hydro method in the water distribution process,” he said.
In response, Dr Vivi Yulaswati, MSc, explained that climate change worsens conditions. Hence, it’s critical to increase resilience so that people can cope with various unexpected circumstances. In addition, her party is currently working with numerous ministries and agencies to prepare a Presidential Instruction (Inpres) on climate resilience, with an implementation target of 2025.
Cross-sector collaboration is expected to address issues such as climate change and funding, with open access to support these initiatives. “I think this is a very good collaboration with lots of cross-sectors, and the issues raised are also climate change and growing concerns, including funding support. Please just access it. If, for example, I can really help, I will facilitate it. This means there is a lot of potential for collaboration in the future,” she added.
Bappenas also offers the potential for collaboration involving parties, local governments, civil society organisations (CSOs), and the community in events where Bappenas is involved. Various events and meetings have been prepared for this year, including FPFSG (Forum for the Promotion of Food Security in the Gulf Cooperation Council States), Green Technology, Ocean Week, and Summit for the Future, which offers opportunities to collaborate and gain support.
“So please, NTT Province, CSOs, and so on, we will be open. Let us know if you are interested, and don’t think about the funds first. We are also developing sponsorship. So hopefully, if there are activities that we can curate, we will find the funds,” she concluded.