Amid the Haze, Women and Persons with Disabilities Demand Accountability for the Gender and Climate Action Plan

PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release on 28 October 2026

Jakarta, 28 October 2026 – More than two years after its issuance, the National Action Plan on Gender and Climate Change (RAN GPI) 2024–2030 is still lacking clear public accountability and monitoring mechanisms. The reporting platform outlined in the document remains inaccessible, gender- and climate-responsive budget tagging has yet to be implemented consistently across the 22 implementing ministries and agencies, and participation indicators remain largely procedural.

These findings were presented by Wicitra Diwasasri, a researcher at Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Indonesia, during a media discussion entitled “Amid the Haze: Women’s Voices Towards COP31” in Jakarta on Wednesday (28 October), amid the growing threat of forest and land fires and Indonesia’s preparations to attend COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, from 9–20 November.

Meanwhile, modelling data from the Indicative Burned Area (Area Indikatif Terbakar/AIT) by the Madani Berkelanjutan Foundation recorded 2.54 million hectares of indicative burned areas across Indonesia between January and September 2026, with a significant increase in August–September 2026. Of this total, 50.7% of the indicative burned areas were located within oil palm plantation and Forest Utilisation Business Licence (PBPH) concession areas, with the largest concentrations in Central Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, and South Papua. The resulting haze from these fires further exacerbates the burdens of the climate crisis borne by women, children, and vulnerable groups at the community level.

Findings from PWYP Indonesia’s policy brief entitled “A Reflection on the Implementation of the National Action Plan on Gender and Climate Change (RAN GPI) 2024–2030 and Strengthening GEDSI in the Global and National Climate Agenda” identify four key issues:

1. Limited reporting and monitoring of the implementation of the RAN GPI action plan. The reporting platform http://srn.menlhk.go.id, referenced in the RAN GPI document, remains inaccessible, with no information provided to date regarding an alternative platform or transition.
2. Gender- and climate-responsive budget tagging has yet to be implemented consistently. A review of the 2026 Work Plans and Budgets (RKA) found that, among the 22 implementing ministries and agencies, only the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) explicitly linked gender and climate budget tagging. Furthermore, there is no publicly available information regarding the establishment of the National Team for Accelerating RAN GPI Implementation, which was agreed upon by the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection (KPPPA) and the relevant ministries and agencies in October 2025.
3. Meaningful participation has been reduced to symbolic involvement. The RAN GPI’s participation indicator only measures the “number of attendances” of vulnerable groups. This contradicts Constitutional Court Decision No. 91/PUU-XVIII/2020, which establishes three fundamental rights of meaningful participation: the right to be heard, the right for one’s views to be considered, and the right to receive an explanation or response.
4. The need to align the RAN GPI 2024–2030 with the Belém Gender Action Plan (BGAP) 2026–2034. This alignment should include multidimensional vulnerability analysis, intersectionally disaggregated data, and safeguard and grievance mechanisms for women environmental defenders.

Wicitra highlighted the absence of measurable implementation timelines. “The RAN GPI action plan only outlines a general implementation period of 2024–2030. Without annual targets and a clear timeline, the public cannot properly assess progress on priority areas such as the provision of disaggregated data. KPPPA, together with the relevant implementing ministries and agencies, must immediately make the implementation timeline and monitoring dashboard publicly accessible,” Wicitra stressed.

Knowledge Creation Manager at Madani Berkelanjutan, Anggalia Putri Permatasari, emphasised the importance of strengthening the legal framework and budgetary commitments for the RAN GPI to ensure that it does not remain merely a formal policy document. Anggalia also highlighted the real threats faced by women environmental defenders on the ground. “Climate consultations must be meaningful. When women and Indigenous Peoples reject land release, their voices must be taken into account. Furthermore, the state has an obligation to guarantee protection for women environmental defenders, who frequently face intimidation and violence while defending the territories they manage and depend on for their livelihoods,” Anggalia stated.

The need for genuine inclusivity was also raised by Nora Sondang, a woman with a disability from the Indonesian Association of Women with Disabilities (HWDI) and an Emerging Leader in Climate. Nora criticised the limited accessibility of public information concerning climate policy documents. “Nothing about us without us. Persons with disabilities must be involved as subjects in decision-making, not merely as passive listeners. The government must provide reasonable accommodations, ranging from screen-reader-friendly document formats and audio content to physical accessibility and programmes that accommodate the diversity of disabilities,” Nora stated.

In closing, Deputy Executive Director of Aksi! for Gender, Social and Ecological Justice, Risma Umar, urged the government to ensure that access to climate finance directly reaches affected communities. “Access to climate finance, such as the Green Climate Fund (GCF), must not be monopolised by corporations or intermediary institutions claiming to represent communities. Ahead of COP31, the Indonesian government must organise inclusive public consultations to formulate its negotiating positions, ensuring that women’s voices are recognised as leaders and decision-makers in shaping climate policies,” Risma said.

Joint Recommendations Ahead of COP31

Ahead of COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, PWYP Indonesia and its civil society coalition call on the Government of Indonesia to:

1. Publicly disclose regular progress reports on RAN GPI implementation through a public dashboard or quarterly reports that are accessible to persons with disabilities.
2. Strengthen the legal basis for RAN GPI implementation, at least through a Presidential Regulation (Peraturan Presiden), establishing clear roles and responsibilities for ministries and agencies and binding budgetary obligations.
3. Align the RAN GPI with the Belém Gender Action Plan (BGAP), including the provision of intersectionally disaggregated data and legal protection and grievance mechanisms for women environmental defenders.
4. Transform participation indicators from merely measuring attendance to assessing the quality of engagement, in accordance with Constitutional Court Decision No. 91/PUU-XVIII/2020.
5. Organise public consultations on Indonesia’s negotiating position documents for COP31 and facilitate direct access to climate finance for women, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, and vulnerable communities.

Contact Person:
Wicitra Diwasasri – wicitra@pwypindonesia.org