This booklet outlines the Asia Foundation’s Forest and Land Governance (SETAPAK 2) program’s approaches, achievements and ongoing challenges in working towards gender just forest and land governance in Indonesia.

The Asia Foundation’s SETAPAK 2 Program:Improving Forest and Land Governance to Protect Forests and Communities in Indonesia

The Asia Founda�on’s Environmental Governance – SETAPAK – program promotes good forest and land governance as fundamental to achieving sustainable forest management, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and suppor�ng low carbon economic growth. Gender jus�ce is an overarching objec�ve of the SETAPAK program. The program recognizes that good forest and land governance is gender sensi�ve, and that gender jus�ce needs to be priori�zed in all governance processes, ins�tu�ons and mechanisms to promote and safeguard women’s engagement and rights.

SETAPAK is suppor�ng its partners to achieve gender just forest and land governance. This means engaging women and marginalized communi�es in all stages of land use and forestry decision-making, and recognizing and protec�ng the rights of women and marginalized communi�es to access and derive livelihood benefits from forests and land. In this way, the SETAPAK program is ensuring that steps towards improved forest and land governance also improve women’s and men’s human rights and wellbeing.

This booklet describes the SETAPAK program’s gender jus�ce objec�ves, and details how the program has implemented these objec�ves in its support to local civil society organisa�ons (CSOs) and to local communi�es. It then outlines some of the program’s achievements so far in improving gender jus�ce in rela�on to forest and land governance, and the challenges remaining for the program and for forest and land governance in Indonesia more broadly.

Mainstreaming a gender-responsive approach throughout the Asia Founda�on’s SETAPAK program

The SETAPAK program recognizes that integra�ng gender jus�ce into all aspects of forest and land governance – by taking into considera�on the differing needs of women and men at different socio-economic levels – is vital for planning and programming. Increasing women’s par�cipa�on in forest land and resource management is acknowledged to improve governance, resource alloca�on and the sustainability of forest resources. In par�cular, enhancing women’s par�cipa�on in decision making commi�ees in community forest ins�tu�ons has been shown to improve forest governance and resource sustainability.

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SETAPAK partners are working with civil society and government to support ini�a�ves that expand women’s par�cipa�on in the policy making process, increase the representa�on of women, ensure equitable budget alloca�ons, and raise awareness of gender issues to secure women’s rights. Forest resources are important to the livelihoods of many Indonesians living in poverty, par�cularly women who are o�en dependent on common property.

The gendered impacts of land-based industries

The impacts of land based and extrac�ve industry expansion are experienced in different and more pronounced ways by women than by men. Women frequently bear the brunt of industry developments without enjoying the poten�al benefits. Issues commonly introduced by land based and extrac�ve industry opera�ons include displacement, loss of land and livelihood, environmental impacts, the availability of formal employment to community members, and an influx of a transient male workforce. These issues may result in different impacts on men and women, which can be called gendered impacts.

To be effec�ve, environmental CSOs must be able to understand and respond to these gendered impacts in ways that align with and strengthen their advocacy and program strategies. Diagnos�c gender analysis tools can help to understand and even predict the direct and indirect impacts these industry developments have on men and women. CSOs also need strategies that link with grassroots communi�es most affected by these changes.

The SETAPAK program is suppor�ng its CSO partners to adopt a gender sensi�ve, or gender responsive approach in their work to ensure that the most vulnerable groups worst affected by the environmental damage from forest and land use changes are supported to ensure their voices are heard, and that their gendered needs are factored into decision making processes. A gender-responsive approach ensures that all program ac�vi�es, strategies and outcomes to improve forest and land governance equally contribute to gender jus�ce. It means considering the differing needs, priori�es and lived-experiences of women and men must be recognised and adequately considered in the design and implementa�on of ini�a�ves to enhance forest and land governance.

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Why is a gender-responsive approach important in efforts to improve environmental governance?

Gender refers to the socially constructed roles and rela�onships between women and men. These are learned, change over �me and are shaped by cultural norms or customs, roles, percep�ons and rela�onships between people. Gender is a form of power that is socially constructed, and a�ributed to women and men differently, depending on the cultural context. Gender is dis�nct from a person’s biological sex, which refers to the anatomy and sex characteris�cs of women and men. Instead, gender refers to what it means to be a women or a man, including what rights, power, privilege and roles they are given in any context.

Gender inequality emerges in different �mes and places where men, or men of certain social groups, are assigned more social power than women. Being aware of gender inequali�es is then crucial to ensure that each part of programma�c ac�vi�es consider uneven power rela�ons between women and men, to enhance women’s voice and par�cipa�on and to address discrimina�on or norms that might constrain women’s engagement in forest and land use decisions and management.

A gender-responsive approach (GRA) considers the differing rights, needs, priori�es and experiences of women and men in a local context, and aims to ensure that women and men have equal opportuni�es to be ac�vely engaged in the design and implementa�on of ini�a�ves, and in benefi�ng from their outcomes. Integra�ng GRA into the SETAPAK program’s work involved ensuring that program ac�vi�es are designed carefully, considering the local context and the rights and roles of women and men of different social groups, as well as their needs, experiences and priori�es. The program aims to seek to close gaps and address inequali�es between women and men through its work, to ensure that its objec�ves of good forest and land governance also contributes to enhanced gender jus�ce.

Implemen�ng a gender responsive approach through the SETAPAK program’s work

To implement a gender responsive approach in the SETAPAK program, the Asia Founda�on begins by conduc�ng studies to map the power rela�ons, or inequali�es, between women and men in the contexts the SETAPAK program works. This analysis considers the various poli�cal, religious and cultural factors that shape gendered power rela�ons. Then, using a gender pathway analysis approach, the Founda�on facilitates its Civil Society Organisa�on (CSO) partners to formulate strategies and implement gender responsive program ac�vi�es, to support CSO partners to iden�fy constraints or challenges that might inhibit women’s ac�ve engagement in ac�vi�es, and opportuni�es to overcome these.

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Considering the gender dimension of development projects with gender sensitive environmental impact assessments

One of the few formal processes in Indonesia’s governance system that has a public par�cipa�on requirement is the requirement that all development projects undertake an Environmental Impact Assessment (Analisis Mengenai Dampak Lingkungan, AMDAL). As all proposed extrac�ve and land-based industry projects are required to produce an AMDAL, it is a cri�cal component in Indonesia’s forest and land governance processes. Any project proponent proposing a business or ac�vity that may have a significant impact on the environment is required to compile an AMDAL. A significant impact is defined as any basic change in the living environment caused by a business or ac�vity. Residents affected, total area affected, the intensity or dura�on of the impact, the number of living elements in the environment affected, the cumula�ve nature of the impact, and remedia�on strategies are all taken into considera�on. Any project located inside or at the border of an area protected for conserva�on also requires an AMDAL.

Yet the AMDAL public consulta�on process rarely engages all members of an impacted community, o�en only involving village / community elites (village officials, district officials, tradi�onal leaders, community leaders) that may not reflect the opinions, needs and interests of the whole community, including women. AMDAL are the only mechanism through which communi�es learn of a proposed project, yet public consulta�on is o�en not carried out in line with the principles of free, prior informed consent; a key principle in interna�onal law that gives affected communi�es the right to give or withhold consent to a project that may affect them or their territories.

The SETAPAK program has made considerable progress in working to enhance the role of women at every stage of the AMDAL process. As a result of the SETAPAK program’s advocacy efforts, in March 2018 Indonesia’s environment and forestry minister, Si� Nurbaya Bakar, pledged to include a requirement for a gender impact assessment to be conducted as part of the AMDAL process, before companies can be issued a full license to operate.

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Improving CSOs capacity to support local and indigenous communities

The SETAPAK program is working to increase the capacity and reach of local CSOs to provide assistance to local and indigenous communi�es to have increased voice in land and forest use decisions and management. CSO partners are u�lising law enforcement agencies and mechanisms, to ensure that legal sanc�ons are administered when laws and regula�ons are violated. Effec�ve and accessible grievance procedures support law enforcement, allowing affected communi�es and other stakeholders to report environmental and social law breaking.

CSO partners are also working through informal jus�ce mechanisms (such as the free, prior, informed consent principle) work to promote compliance with land use and forestry laws, and to ensure that local and indigenous communi�es’ rights are recognized.

Through its CSO partners, the SETAPAK program is conduc�ng community strengthening, to enhance local communi�es’ ability to pursue grievances through formal or informal mechanisms, to enhance management of forest and land. By assis�ng affected communi�es and suppor�ng their capacity to understand the causes of forest and land damage in their regions, CSOs are promo�ng policy reform to ensure fair and sustainable natural resource management.

The SETAPAK program is partnering with more than 65 CSOs in 14 provinces in Aceh, Riau, West Sumatra, South Sumatra, North Sumatra, West Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, Central Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, Papua, West Papua, Bengkulu, and Bangka-Belitung, in its work towards achieving gender just forest and land governance.

Training CSO partners in using a gender responsive approach

The Asia Founda�on recognises that each CSO partner has different levels of understanding and experience in using a gender responsive approach. The Founda�on has worked to increase the capacity of its CSO partners to use gender analysis in their forest and land governance programma�c work. The Founda�on has also worked to support its CSO partners to conduct advocacy and enhance policy making. The process and capacity enhancement strategies applied by the Founda�on are detailed briefly here:

Gender analysis is an approach for understanding the different rights, power, privilege and roles assigned to women and men in different contexts. Gender analysis helps to identify inequalities or exclusions that may limit women (or marginalised men in some contexts) from participating in, or benefitting from activities or initiatives aimed at improving forest and land governance.

A gender pathways analysis is a method of analysis to investigate, or understand differences or gaps between women and men’s power and rights in a local context.

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Ini�al challenges in implemen�ng a gender responsive approach

Although the Founda�on has worked to implement a gender-responsive approach in all aspects of its forest and land governance programming, a number of challenges were experienced with its ini�al implementa�on, these being:

• A number of partners had not integrated gender responsive approaches into their program plans and ac�vi�es

• Program partners learnt slowly that local women’s groups are a key forum, or entry point to engage women at the village women in forest and land related decisions and management

• Program partners were slow to adopt gender analysis in their policy products (in policy briefings and notes, academic studies to inform policy decisions) and other campaign material

• Monitoring and evalua�on had not yet been formulated to capture the disaggregated impact of program interven�ons on women and men differently

• CSO partners tend to analyse the ecological and social implica�ons of forest and land use issued, but overlook the way that impacts are experienced differently by women and men of different social groups

• Relatedly, CSO partners took �me to understand that a gender responsive approach is more than just women’s income earning ac�vi�es, but also about removing exclusions women face in ac�ve engagement on local decision making forums.

• The evalua�on also revealed that CSO partners own organisa�onal structures lacked important gender sensi�ve mechanisms.

Recognising these challenges, the Founda�on conducted an internal evalua�on to iden�fy strategies to be�er supports CSO partners. The evalua�on iden�fied there was a need to provide more mentoring and one-on-one intensive support to CSO partners to enhance their ability to understand gender inequali�es and to iden�fy suitable strategies to resolve these in their programma�c work. The Founda�on has incorporated new methods that allow monitoring and facilita�on of gender responsive approaches on the ground with local partners.

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Gender analysis pathway: mainstreaming a gender responsive approach through CSO partners’ ins�tu�ons and ac�vi�es

The Founda�on takes a holis�c approach with gender programming, aiming to integrate a gender responsive approach into every aspect of CSOs’ ins�tu�ons and ac�vi�es, from their ins�tu�onal structures to the design and implementa�on of programma�c ac�vi�es. To do so, the Founda�on began by working with each CSO to examine their organiza�on vision, the gender composi�on of the organisa�on’s staff, how program ac�vi�es are developed, to reviewing the logical framework (logframe) of their programs.

This gender analysis assessment was conducted on ten SETAPAK partners, namely MaTA and BYTRA (Aceh), FITRA and WALHI (Riau), Qbar (West Sumatra), AMAN and JATAM (East Kalimantan), SAMPAN (West Kalimantan), Sawit Watch (na�onal partner, but at the time, it carried out assistance in Central Sulawesi) and LBH Palembang (South Sumatra). These partners were chosen as they represent the Founda�on’s working areas, the variety of issues of focus by each partner, and the poten�al of the partners themselves in implemen�ng the GRA. Based on the findings of the analysis, TAF concluded two main things:

● The implementa�on of a gender responsive approach implementa�on must have concrete and include specific indicators for success. These indicators must be stated explicitly in the partners' program logframe, to show how women's groups have been strengthened in the program.

● So that a gender jus�ce perspec�ve can be internalized by partners, TAF must provide more intensive assistance, ensuring the SETAPAK Program Officers (PO) and partners communicate and discuss intensively to ensure that these indicators can be achieved.

SETAPAK programma�c staff provide guidance in each stage of suppor�ng their CSO partners to mainstream a gender responsive approach. This support includes:

• designing program ac�vi�es using gender analysis to understand barriers to women’s engagement and iden�fy opportuni�es or strategies for change

• establishing gender responsive indicators to measure change, and success. These might be, to advocate to reform local regula�ons to recognise and protect indigenous people’s tenurial rights, with a clause that guarantees women’s ac�ve involvement in determining access and control of land and other natural resources.

• include the indicators in the monitoring and evalua�on of the partners’ program

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SETAPAK Facilita�on in Program Implementa�on, Monitoring and Evalua�on

● SETAPAK program officers then monitor program implementa�on by visi�ng partner's working sites every one to two months. In addi�on, technical assistance is provided to partners based on intense communica�on to iden�fy their needs. Communica�on is not always formal, it can be done via short messages (Whatsapp, SMS) to support partners in the remote areas. If needed, the PO is also involved in developing the ac�vi�es’ terms of reference to be more effec�ve and have a broad impact.

● The Founda�on has iden�fied one or two CSO partners with knowledge, experience and interest in suppor�ng mainstreaming of gender responsive approaches in each province of work to act as gender focal point.

● Usually a gender focal point is appointed to provide gender analysis training for CSO partners. Gender analysis training in forest and land governance is important to ensure that a gender responsive approach is understood and is implemented by partners. Gender focal point also become co-facilitators in capacity building ac�vi�es for women's groups in partner working areas and to assist regional women leaders in na�onal and provincial mee�ngs.

● Early assessment of the SETAPAK program iden�fied that CSO partners lack extensive grassroots networks, as much of their organising is limited to the rural ci�es in which they are based. The Founda�on is working to enhance CSO presence in villages and increase CSO partners’ capacity to conduct village level community organising.

● In an effort to support emerging grassroots leaders, the Founda�on and CSO partners have ini�ated annual local champions’ mee�ngs. The mee�ngs bring together women and men at the community level who are advoca�ng for fair and sustainable natural resource management. Partners iden�fy three to five local champions from each district or region of work, who are then involved in na�onal mee�ngs. The Founda�on provides local champions training in presen�ng to the media, and in engaging policy makers. Champions are then supported to present their local issues to the media, and to brief key policy makers on their local situa�on.

● To date, two national mee�ngs have been held since the program’s ini�al mee�ng in 2017. At the 2018 mee�ng, 120 local champions met with the Minister of Environment and Forestry, Si� Nurbaya Bakar, resul�ng in three important recommenda�ons:

1. To recognise the important role played by women household heads, and enhancing women’s voices in social forestry policies and strategies (rather than assuming men to always be household heads, and thus representa�ves of their households)

2. To include a requirement for a gender impact assessment to be conducted as part of environmental impact assessments that must be undertaken by companies before conduc�ng any development projects

3. To recognise that large-scale industrial planta�ons have uneven impacts, with women dispropor�onately experiencing nega�ve impacts including loss of control over sources of food and income, compounded by difficul�es accessing social benefits.

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The results of the mee�ng are then followed up by several local champions when returning to the village by sharing this experience with other community members, in addi�on to con�nuing to their current advocacy.

Partner Coordina�on Mee�ngs, held regularly at the provincial and na�onal levels, bring together CSO partners to share learnings and experiences with applying a gender responsive approach, to scale up successes and learn from challenges.

Image 1. Coverage on a mee�ng between local grassroots champions and the Forestry and Environmental Ministry by Kompas and the Jakarta Post.

The Founda�on’s mentoring process has shown posi�ve results, in respect to CSO partners internalising gender responsive approaches within their organisa�on’s management structures and demonstra�ng high levels of commitment to implemen�ng partner programs. Challenges remain however in implemen�ng gender responsive approaches in the communi�es they support: First, in general, local communi�es o�en have tradi�onal norms that may inhibit women’s involvement in decision making, including rela�ng to natural resources. Introducing new prac�ces to enhance women’s par�cipa�on requires extensive dialogue with male leaders to create suppor�ve environments to encourage women’s involvement.

Due to the child care, daily household maintenance and other livelihood roles and responsibili�es assigned to women, their lives are o�en more circumscribed and confined to the local level in contrast to their male counterparts, with fewer opportuni�es to par�cipate in public mee�ngs where decisions rela�ng to land and forest use are o�en made. To address these limita�ons, SETAPAK staff and CSO partners collaborate intensely to design and implement strategies to best ensure involvement of women's groups in the community.

Enhancing the influence of women’s groups Since its beginning in 2011, the SETAPAK program has support in the form of capacity building and empowerment ini�a�ves aimed at enhancing local women’s involvement in advocacy to improve forest and land governance. As a result of these targeted efforts, women leaders are beginning to emerge at the local level. Women leaders are taking the ini�a�ve to facilitate their communi�es in safeguarding their natural resources from destruc�on by land-based industries and ensuring that women have equal voice in the management of community-based forest management.

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Women central to enhancing access to information

The SETAPAK program is using the opportuni�es for enhanced informa�on transparency made available with the implementa�on of the 2008 Freedom of Informa�on (FoI) Law which mandates how na�onal and local governments must ensure ci�zens’ rights to access public informa�on. The Law requires that provinces must established Informa�on Commissions and procedures for handling information grievances, where informa�on is requested from government authori�es and not responded to within the �me allowed.

To ensure that women are represented on Provincial Informa�on Commissions, SETAPAK CSO partners are suppor�ng women leaders to nominate themselves as candidates. The program is also working with women’s groups within communi�es affected by planta�on or extrac�ve industry land grabs, to pursue informa�on requests in accordance with their rights as set out within the FoI Law.

Increasing women’s involvement in sustainable forest management

The program is working to enhance women’s par�cipa�on in community-based forest management schemes in several ways, including by introducing mandates for minimal women’s representa�on on forest management bodies, or organisa�ons, and in the prepara�on of community-based forest management proposals to ensure women are ac�ve par�cipants and that women’s extensive knowledge and their own rights are acknowledged. CSO partners are also pushing for regula�ons to ensure that each village has a minimal representa�on of women in village level governance decisions at the sub-district and district level.

Enhancing just and ethical law enforcement

In an effort enhance access to jus�ce, enhance law enforcement and to ensure that laws are applied in an ethical and just way, the program has provided paralegal training to local women and men. This training will be�er enable women to support community members who become criminalised and subject to in�mida�on by non-state security by companies during tenurial disputes.

In East Kalimantan, one of Indonesia’s most heavily mined provinces, open cast mining is common. Companies leave sites without remedia�on, so that large mining pits remain abandoned, scarring the landscape. To date 32 children have drowned in mine pits in East Kalimantan alone. SETAPAK program is suppor�ng its local CSO partner JATAM East Kalimantan bring together the families of children who have fallen to their deaths in abandoned mine pits. Already this organising has resulted in much success; mothers of child vic�ms have reported their experience to key government officials, resul�ng in the closure of a mine pit.

In Aceh, West Sumatra and East Kalimantan, regions affected by the expansion of industrial palm oil, support from SETAPAK CSOs resulted in 30 women becoming involved in advocacy to prevent further expansion of palm oil. Of these women, 12 women became members of village forest management bodies, and three women were selected to become provincial informa�on commissioners.

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Aceh Transparency Society (MaTA) working to enhance women’s involvement in informa�on transparency

MaTA is an Aceh-based CSO with a long experience in encouraging public informa�on disclosure, one of which is in the forest and land governance sector in Aceh. Since beginning, MaTA has applied a gender analysis to its advocacy strategies aimed at inves�ga�ng corrup�on and enhancing transparency in budge�ng and policy making. Through its partnership with the Founda�on, MaTA has built in a gender responsive approach in the program, from proposal prepara�on, implementa�on, to program evalua�on.

MaTA's strategy is to strengthen community capacity, par�cularly women's groups, to access informa�on land and forest management, including to obtain permit documents for areas in and around their villages. MaTA is using this informa�on as evidence to support ci�zens to nego�ate with local governments, to resolve land disputes and incidences of environmental pollu�on, and to demand for the ci�zen’s rights in their dealings with forest and land-based companies.

In their support to 25 women from five districts (Aceh Tamiang, East Aceh, North Aceh, West Aceh and Nagan Raya), MaTA learned about the various challenges and constraints that women face in their own communi�es that prevent them from becoming involved in organising. These include percep�ons held locally within their community (both men and women) that women don’t need to be involved in advocacy as this can be le� to men, and women's low levels of confidence in their ability to solve problems.

To address these perception issues, and to strengthen advocacy work while accelera�ng the resolu�on of land disputes in their area, MaTA now takes the approach of establishing a dialogue with village officials, community leaders, religious leaders, and women's groups, prior to ins�ga�ng capacity building. These dialogues succeed in disbursing the atmosphere in villages. MaTA then held capacity building for women's groups, star�ng with problem mapping, to then iden�fy the government informa�on that would be needed to help inves�gate, then assis�ng local communi�es to request informa�on, then following through with dispute resolu�on. In addi�on, MaTA also provided assistance to community members at every stage of their informa�on requests, especially in the stages of informa�on disputes at the Aceh Informa�on Commission.

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Where women were ini�ally unconfident, afraid to even submit a le�er reques�ng informa�on to public authori�es, following MaTA’s support and encouragement women became increasing confident in their abili�es and rights as ci�zens. The women found that almost all their informa�on requests were not responded. This required them to submit an informa�on grievance through the Aceh Informa�on Commission. A new challenge arose at this stage; the women had to convince their family to permit them to a�end a trial in Banda Aceh. Most of the women in the group had never le� their village unaccompanied by a family member. Despite MaTA’s support and efforts to convince women to con�nue their grievances, the words 'courtroom' s�ll sounded strange and alarming to those who had never previously been through the process. However the women were able to overcome their fears, and pursued with the trial process with the Aceh Informa�on Commission, finding that they were able to understand and indeed par�cipate in the process ac�vely. This has fostered their confidence and courage to speak in public, and sparked their further involvement in decision making in their village.

The efforts of local women to pursue informa�on access also resulted in a remarked improvement in the dispute resolu�on of public authori�es in the five districts; Aceh Tamiang, East Aceh, North Aceh, West Aceh and Nagan Raya. Where there were government workers assigned the role of Informa�on and Documenta�on Management Officers (PPIDs) to service district governments they tended to not understand their roles, or what informa�on was available to be provided to the public, or how to access and provide informa�on requested. This changed however following the increase in demand sparked by local women reques�ng informa�on. PPID were provided more direc�ves and support from their agencies leadership. For example, following an informa�on dispute, the PPID for Aceh Tamiang was instructed by the Regional Secretary to improve its informa�on provision processes to avoid future informa�on grievances.

Informa�on obtained by women's groups has since been used as an evidence base to inform advocacy efforts. In West Aceh, local women obtained a map of a palm oil concession to iden�fy the companies’ legal land boundaries to contest these, and used the related environmental impact assessment they had obtained to advocate for improved management of environmental pollu�on. The Aceh Timur women's group obtained an environmental impact assessment of oil and gas company PT Medco, to understand the predicted impacts and communicate these to their community.

Women villagers trained by Central Sulawesi’s LBH APIK pursue grievances against non-compliant mining companies

Central Sulawesi’s legal aid organisa�on (LBH APIK) provides legal assistance for women and children, especially vic�ms of domes�c violence. In their aims to reduce barriers to women and marginalised communi�es’ access to jus�ce, their work is underlined by a gender responsive approach. LBH APIK provided extensive support and training to local community members to develop a network of paralegals. Paralegals offer their fellow community members support to access jus�ce, including colla�ng evidence to support a grievance. Since partnering with the SETAPAK program, LBH APIK turned their focus to addressing issues related to forest and land governance, and to ensuring that their work in this respect contributes to gender jus�ce. The strategies taken by LBH APIK in the implementa�on of a gender responsive approach to achieve good forest and land governance include to: increase the number of, and strengthen the capacity of, trained women paralegals; and to report cases of environmental and permit related legal infrac�ons to law enforcement agencies and regional Ombudsman.

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LBH APIK’s paralegal training, and the organisa�on’s central value of gender jus�ce, underlined their achievements in assis�ng local communi�es in the district of Donggala, Central Sulawesi, to protect their ancestral land from being grabbed by mining companies. Local communi�es were in�midated and criminalised for protes�ng the arrival of extrac�ve industries over their farm land, undermining their ability to make a livelihood. In one village, Labuan Panimba, in the Donggala district, where villagers had protested a land grab by a mining company and had been jailed, Mrs Karmin, a local woman health volunteer and paralegal trained by LBH APIK, used her new skills to provide support to criminalised villagers to have them released from jail. LBH APIK then supported the villagers to report these incidences of unjust criminalisa�on of villagers to the provincial Ombudsman representa�ve. Taiara Dewi Murni, the LBH APIK legal services staff explained that the paralegal group is now able to request informa�on from the provincial mining agency, and report to the Ombudsman without further support from LBH APIK, indica�ng that they have established skills and can work independently, to support other groups in the region.

Another example of LBH APIK’s work is their assistance provided to communi�es in the village of Loli Canal, in Donggala district where a community was in conflict over land with sand dredging company company, PT Labuan Lelea Ratan. Sand dredging in the village was causing the communi�es’ river, their primary water source, to dry out, resul�ng in water scarcity and triggering social conflicts within the community as households fought over access to the li�le water remaining.

LBH APIK provided assistance by conduc�ng an analysis to iden�fy the ways that environmental damage was impac�ng women and men differently, iden�fying that women’s roles and responsibili�es for ensuring water for washing and drinking within their households meant that the impact of water shortages burdened them most nega�vely. Women were having to find clean water far from the village, if they could afford the �me and cost of travel.

Iden�fying the differen�ated impacts, LBH APIK was then able to provide assistance to women’s groups to enable them to be�er understand their rights to clean water, and to build their confidence to appear in public and par�cipate in village mee�ngs to inform decisions. Women’s increased voice in village mee�ngs resulted in the village taking ac�ons against the PT Labuan Lelea Ratan for damaging its water source. Four women paralegals trained by LBH APIK conducted inves�ga�ons to obtain data about the companies’ infrac�ons, and sued the company for damaging the village’s water source. A�er an extended court case, the villagers won their case against the company.

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Women supported by QBar pursuing informa�on requests to inves�gate non-compliant mining companies in West Sumatra

Qbar, a SETAPAK CSO partner in West Sumatra is suppor�ng village communi�es to sustainably manage their natural resources, including their ancestral forests. With SETAPAK training and mentoring, QBar is ensuring that their community support is gender aware, and that women are ac�vely engaged at all stages of design and implementa�on. West Sumatra’s Minangkabau culture is matrilineal, meaning that property, family name and land is passed down from mother to daughter, and local customary tradi�ons mean that women hold a rela�vely advantageous posi�on in society, holding significantly more power in contrast to other more patriarchal socie�es.

According to Minangkabau customary prac�ces, land is controlled by women who hold the posi�on of bundo kanduang, but the management rights of forest and land remains in the hands of men, who are tradi�onal leaders or niniak mamak. Although every policy related to customary land must go through delibera�on process involving women, agreements is reached by the male niniak mamak, so that the women's perspec�ve is not necessarily represented, despite their rela�vely advantageous posi�on socially. Several pa�erns of gender inequality can emerge in households in rural West Sumatra, for example the double burden experienced by women who have to concentrate fully on fulfilling the needs of households and children but s�ll play a major role in their households’ farm-based or off-farm livelihoods.

Acknowledging the challenges and heavy workloads women deal with in West Sumatra is crucial to QBar’s success. Qbar have taken the role of aiding women's groups by providing them capacity building assistance, to increase their confidence to speak in public and understand their rights in managing forests, land and other natural resources.

Qbar also works to ensure that women are involved in advocacy efforts to secure recogni�on of customary land rights for local communi�es, and to revoke non-compliant land-based industry permits in West Sumatra. Qbar is leading advocacy to improve governance of Central Sulawesi’s mining sector, to support the work of the Na�onal Movement for the Protec�on of Natural Resources (GNPSDA), led by the Corrup�on Eradica�on Commission. Their inves�ga�ons led to the cancella�on of an illegal gold mining company, PT. Anugrah Batu Hirang, opera�ng in the village of Sundata, Pasaman district.

The gold mining company received an explora�on mining permit on 3 May 2010, from the Pasaman district head, for an area of 4,041 ha. The government reduced their permit concession area to 3,510 ha in 2015. The company however con�nued to operate over their ini�al permi�ed concession area. QBar supported women’s groups in the village with training and mentoring to use the FoI Law to access the company’s permit informa�on from the Pasaman district government.

QBar trialled holding trainings at different �mes to best suit women’s workloads and availability, finding that women were most comfortable mee�ng informally in outdoor se�ngs during the a�ernoon in between their child care and household responsibili�es. One woman to emerge as a leader was Mrs Ermanella, a teacher at Sundata Public Elementary School, who played an ac�ve role in the community. She found ways to support the women of the community to raise awareness of the poten�al future impacts of mining, such as by watching together a documentary video of the inspiring struggle of the Kendeng Mountain women's group, Rembang, Central Java, who worked to resist a cement mine owned by Semen Indonesia. Through the Kendeng women’s experience the women learnt that if they were unified and strong, they could protect their village from gold mining expansion.

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QBar supported the women to pursue an informa�on request to the Padang mining agency, to obtain informa�on about the PT. Anugrah Batu Hirang mining permit and environmental impact assessment. When the mining agency did not respond to their informa�on request, they pursued an informa�on grievance through the West Sumatra Provincial Public Informa�on Commission. The informa�on commission ruled in the communi�es’ favour; determining that the informa�on requested was public informa�on and must be provided. With the informa�on they finally obtained, QBar has since worked with the Sundata community to review the permit documents and field opera�ons. They iden�fied that the company had been opera�ng outside of their permi�ed concession area, and reported this to the provincial government and law enforcement agencies. The mining companies’ permit has since been cancelled.

TAF’s Strategies to Overcome Challenges in implemen�ng GRA

A gender responsive approach has significantly strengthened the SETAPAK program. It has seen women’s groups, who had not previously been significantly involved in decision making, play an increasingly influen�al role in shaping decision making at the local level, and women increasing pressure on governments to demand improved transparency and accountability. When women claimed space and par�cipate in advocacy to protect natural resources in their area, they have had significant influence in shaping change in their villages and beyond. In this way, the SETAPAK program is increasing its influence beyond individual villages, to push for reduced deforesta�on and land degrada�on.

SETAPAK’s early experience showed that without intensive assistance, rigorous technical capacity building for CSOs and communi�es, it is a challenge to expect the emergence of women leaders at the local level – not for lack pf interest and commitment of women, but rather a func�on of cultural and systemic challenges in most socie�es.

Numerous successes have been achieved, yet challenges remain. Some organisa�ons remain more resistant to change; to some, ensuring women are involved in every step of the program – including involving female speakers in public events – does not come naturally. It is s�ll a long way to ensure that women’s aspira�on, both at the grassroots level as well as the regional and na�onal levels are taken into account.

The Founda�on and its partners are s�ll striving to encourage the mul�plica�on of gender responsive policies in the forest and land sector, such as in the Environmental Impact Analysis (AMDAL), and the Strategic Environmental Assessment (KLHS) to encourage environmental policies that consider the interests, needs and priori�es of women at the local level.

The Founda�on also acknowledges that there is s�ll a long way to go to increase the representa�on of women leaders at the local level, and to enhance the effec�veness of gender focal points in each province. Ensuring a space in which dialogue between local champions and policy makers take place both at the na�onal and provincial levels is one key aspect of moving towards the program’s gender jus�ce goals. Good forest and land governance is gender just, ensuring that all social groups benefit equally from the outcomes of sustainably and equitably managed forests, land and natural resources now and into the future.

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