Not only physical losses, climate change also has the potential to eliminate livelihoods, thereby potentially increasing the number of poor people in Indonesia.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) has advised the government to strengthen legal protection and increase law enforcement efforts considering that climate change can trigger several vulnerabilities in society.

Head of the Legal Research Center of BRIN, Laely Nurhidayah, said that people in areas affected by climate change tend to be more vulnerable to forced migration, human trafficking, and forced labor.

"Looking at the legal and policy framework for protecting against the impacts of climate change, currently, there is no law that specifically regulates the impacts of climate change in Indonesia," she highlighted in a statement released by BRIN in Jakarta on Thursday.

Nurhidayah then shared a case study of residents of Sri Wulan village who lost their agricultural land but found work as laborers in Semarang, Central Java.

According to the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), Indonesia is one of the countries that are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

Coordinator of the Directorate of Environment of Bappenas, Anna Amalia, said that 199 districts/cities in Indonesia's coastal areas are threatened by the impact of climate change.

Besides, there are 40 districts/cities with a very high coastal vulnerability index. Rising sea levels due to climate change are causing people living in coastal areas to lose their homes.

Amalia revealed that 11.65 million poor Indonesians face a higher threat from climate change.

"Not only physical losses, climate change also has the potential to eliminate livelihoods, thereby potentially increasing the number of poor people in Indonesia," she said.

Amalia further said that efforts to overcome climate change require an understanding of the complex interactions between humans and nature using a multi-disciplinary approach based on gender equality and justice.

Integrated and collaborative action with various parties, both at the national and regional levels, is needed to realize climate-resilient development to overcome the negative impacts of climate change.

"Gender equality in climate-resilient development needs to be described concretely in the National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) to ensure that climate change mitigation and adaptation in society is inclusive, fair, and sustainable," Amalia said.

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Translator: Sugiharto Purnama, Cindy Frishanti Octavia
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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