Changing Power from the Bottom Up: How Women and Communities are Changing the Climate Justice Story in Indonesia
The fight against climate change in Indonesia is not taking place in air-conditioned meeting rooms or glossy national reports. It’s unfolding in riverside kampungs, on contested farmland, through communal rituals, and in the quiet determination of women who are reshaping the narrative of who gets to design the future. As the climate crisis intensifies, so too does the resolve of those who have long been excluded from decision-making. Today, they are not merely asking for a seat at the table; they are building the table themselves.
Take Gedongkiwo, an urban village in Yogyakarta. In a space historically dominated by government technocrats and men, 30 women from the Women’s Federation attended the Annual Village Development Deliberation (Musrenbangdes) not as guests, but as strategic actors. With support from the VCA alliance, they came equipped with environmental data from the Environmental Agency Laboratory, detailed community issue maps, and the confidence to speak on behalf of often-overlooked groups, young people, waste collectors, the elderly, and riverside residents. They advocated for improved waste management, the protection of the Winongo River, and the establishment of stronger waste banks as community-led institutions. For the first time, these lived realities were formally integrated into the village development agenda. This was not just participation, it was policymaking, owned and driven by the community.
But this shift is not limited to one village. In Dayeuhkolot, Bandung, women from another federation engaged in the city-wide Musrenbangkab, a critical process that determines regional budgets and planning priorities. Standing alongside academics, government officials, civil society organisations, and business representatives, they made their voices heard. Over several months, VCA equipped them with climate literacy, facilitation techniques, and negotiation skills, transforming confidence into influence within bureaucratic spaces. These women didn’t simply attend; they challenged the invisibility of women’s environmental burdens and placed resilience, public services, and environmental justice on the formal agenda. For the first time, a community-led environmental perspective has entered a space that directly feeds into local parliamentary discussions.
Meanwhile, in East Nusa Tenggara, traditional knowledge once dismissed as folklore is now forming the foundation of official environmental governance. In Lembata, Indigenous leaders, supported by VCA’s Adaptation Coalition, enshrined customary rituals such as Muro, Hamayang Kacua Utang, and Hoholok into formal village regulations. These aren’t symbolic gestures. They serve as tools for land protection, fisheries management, and disaster preparedness, deeply rooted in the local ecological context. For the first time, Indigenous environmental stewardship is not only respected as cultural heritage but also formally recognised by government institutions and the broader public. This blending of Indigenous law with national governance marks a vital shift away from centuries of top-down, extractive policymaking that ignored local wisdom.
Though these stories come from different regions, they share a common thread: communities reclaiming their power to shape development that is just, inclusive, and grounded in lived experience. VCA’s role goes beyond amplifying voices; it is about redistributing power. Through participatory policy processes, community-led data collection, and cross-sector partnerships, VCA is reshaping the climate narrative, from one of vulnerability to one of leadership and vision.
This is what structural change looks like: when women become architects of public planning, when Indigenous wisdom shapes environmental policy, and when resilience is not imposed from above, but nurtured from within. As these communities continue to speak out, organise, and lead, they remind us of a crucial truth: those who have suffered the most from climate injustice are the very ones best placed to shape its future, only if we are wise enough to listen and brave enough to follow.
