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Climate change has impacted the lives of humans immensely, especially vulnerable groups such as indigenous peoples that live in coastal areas. Coastal Indigenous Peoples have been placed at a greater disadvantage because of climate change due to the close dependency with natural resources and its surrounding ecosystem (Nalau et al., 2018). Climate change has influenced the conditions of the environment and livelihood of Coastal Indigenous Peoples, resulting in them to experience a multitude of vulnerabilities. Since the 1960s, rising temperatures from 0.14 oC to 0.20 oC, has caused an extreme rise in sea levels (Raoul Wallenberg Institute, 2023). The current sea level projection ranges between 0.4 to 2.5 meters until the end of the century (Piggott-McKellar et al., 2021). The rise in sea levels brings adverse effects such as the intrusion of salt that can dangerously limit the access to freshwater, the rise in tidal waves and storm surges, coastal erosions, coastal flooding, as well as higher tides. In response to this situation, Coastal Indigenous Peoples are under threat to move because of the conditions brought by climate change (i.e., climate migration) (Spellman, 2022). On the other hand, indigenous peoples are widely recognized for their ability to adapt with the environment and dangerous events, which includes the context of changing coastal conditions as well as rising sea levels. Indigenous peoples are able to confront climate change in various ways, such as through the diversification of their livelihoods, changes to food sources, as well as through the management of more sustainable ecosystems (Petzold, 2020). However, traditional knowledge and wisdom ecosystems (Petzold, 2020). However, traditional knowledge and wisdom might not always be enough to face climate change that has shifted at an extreme pace. Traditional knowledge is based on the past, and can prove to be limited when it comes to facing new conditions pertaining to climate change that has not occurred beforehand (Lebel, 2012). At the global level, various forums and international conventions have been recognized as an important avenue to voice the concerns of indigenous people within the narrative of climate change, such as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) that recognizes the right towards the rights to a safe and healthy envrionment that need to incorporates the perspectives and representations of indigenous peoples within the perspectives of environmental protection and management (Ituarte-Lima, 2023). Within the context of Indonesia, the Ministry of Law and Human Rights (MoLHR) has integrated the protection and fulfillment of the rights of indigenous peoples within Presidential Regulation No. 53/2021 on National Action Plan on Human Rights 2012-2025 (RANHAM) although it does not directly address the conditions of climate change. Furthermore, the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MoMAF) have also enacted several policies to regulate coastal zoning systems for Coastal Indigenous Peoples (MoMAF, 2020). Nevertheless, the climate change and indigenous peoples discourse in Indonesia is still very much focused within the narratives of land-based and terrestrial communities. A wide gap in research and policy intervention exists in regards to the rights of indigenous peoples and climate change, specifically within the context of coastal communities. As an island nation, there is an urgent need for Indonesia to have a holistic working framework to solve this issue. This is further perpetuated since research shows that Indonesia has lost 29,000 ha of land because of rising sea levels. The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) has even estimated that Indonesia will lose 115 of its islands within a couple of decades (Karlina et al., 2020). Other research has also shown that by 2050, as much as 2,000 small islands will sink, where 70% of them will come from the islands of Maluku (Herman, 2023). This document is developed to present several challenges faced by Coastal Indigenous Peoples in facing climate change. This research seeks to reveal several vulnerabilities faced by indigenous peoples, as well as the mitigation and adaptation strategies implemented by them when facing climate change. One analytical framework utilized is the Framework for Integrating Rights and Equality (FIRE), a working framework developed by the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (RWI) to integrate human rights-based approach and gender equality within the context of climate change and disaster risk reduction.

Coastal Indigenous Peoples and Climate Change: A Human Rights Perspective

Resource Key: 76JU25CJ

Document Type: Report

Creator:

Author:

  • Yance Arizona
  • Almonika Cindy Fatika Sari
  • Danang Aditya Nizar

Creators Name: {mb_resource_zotero_creatorsname}

Place: Jakarta, Indonesia

Institution: Raoul Wallenberg Institute

Date: 2024

Language: en

Climate change has impacted the lives of humans immensely, especially vulnerable groups such as indigenous peoples that live in coastal areas. Coastal Indigenous Peoples have been placed at a greater disadvantage because of climate change due to the close dependency with natural resources and its surrounding ecosystem (Nalau et al., 2018). Climate change has influenced the conditions of the environment and livelihood of Coastal Indigenous Peoples, resulting in them to experience a multitude of vulnerabilities. Since the 1960s, rising temperatures from 0.14 oC to 0.20 oC, has caused an extreme rise in sea levels (Raoul Wallenberg Institute, 2023). The current sea level projection ranges between 0.4 to 2.5 meters until the end of the century (Piggott-McKellar et al., 2021). The rise in sea levels brings adverse effects such as the intrusion of salt that can dangerously limit the access to freshwater, the rise in tidal waves and storm surges, coastal erosions, coastal flooding, as well as higher tides. In response to this situation, Coastal Indigenous Peoples are under threat to move because of the conditions brought by climate change (i.e., climate migration) (Spellman, 2022). On the other hand, indigenous peoples are widely recognized for their ability to adapt with the environment and dangerous events, which includes the context of changing coastal conditions as well as rising sea levels. Indigenous peoples are able to confront climate change in various ways, such as through the diversification of their livelihoods, changes to food sources, as well as through the management of more sustainable ecosystems (Petzold, 2020). However, traditional knowledge and wisdom ecosystems (Petzold, 2020). However, traditional knowledge and wisdom might not always be enough to face climate change that has shifted at an extreme pace. Traditional knowledge is based on the past, and can prove to be limited when it comes to facing new conditions pertaining to climate change that has not occurred beforehand (Lebel, 2012). At the global level, various forums and international conventions have been recognized as an important avenue to voice the concerns of indigenous people within the narrative of climate change, such as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) that recognizes the right towards the rights to a safe and healthy envrionment that need to incorporates the perspectives and representations of indigenous peoples within the perspectives of environmental protection and management (Ituarte-Lima, 2023). Within the context of Indonesia, the Ministry of Law and Human Rights (MoLHR) has integrated the protection and fulfillment of the rights of indigenous peoples within Presidential Regulation No. 53/2021 on National Action Plan on Human Rights 2012-2025 (RANHAM) although it does not directly address the conditions of climate change. Furthermore, the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MoMAF) have also enacted several policies to regulate coastal zoning systems for Coastal Indigenous Peoples (MoMAF, 2020). Nevertheless, the climate change and indigenous peoples discourse in Indonesia is still very much focused within the narratives of land-based and terrestrial communities. A wide gap in research and policy intervention exists in regards to the rights of indigenous peoples and climate change, specifically within the context of coastal communities. As an island nation, there is an urgent need for Indonesia to have a holistic working framework to solve this issue. This is further perpetuated since research shows that Indonesia has lost 29,000 ha of land because of rising sea levels. The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) has even estimated that Indonesia will lose 115 of its islands within a couple of decades (Karlina et al., 2020). Other research has also shown that by 2050, as much as 2,000 small islands will sink, where 70% of them will come from the islands of Maluku (Herman, 2023). This document is developed to present several challenges faced by Coastal Indigenous Peoples in facing climate change. This research seeks to reveal several vulnerabilities faced by indigenous peoples, as well as the mitigation and adaptation strategies implemented by them when facing climate change. One analytical framework utilized is the Framework for Integrating Rights and Equality (FIRE), a working framework developed by the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (RWI) to integrate human rights-based approach and gender equality within the context of climate change and disaster risk reduction.

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