Women Forest Defenders: Watching the Forest, Growing the Future in Indonesia

About this event

This panel discussion will feature stories from women in communities near forests across Indonesia. It will highlight how they organize themselves, conduct community-based forest monitoring, develop economic opportunities from food and other non-timber forest products, and participate in policy advocacy. Their experiences will show how women’s leadership can strengthen forest governance and support a regenerative local economy, in which livelihoods and enterprises grow while sustaining forest ecosystems and keeping more economic value within communities. The session presents women as actors shaping climate solutions, rather than simply as recipients of outside interventions. Their stories provide concrete examples of climate action that draws on local experience and connects forest protection with community livelihoods.