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Gender Mainstreaming in Indonesian

Renewable Energy Policy and Program
International Seminar
SOCIO POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC REFORM IN SOUTHEAST ASIA:
ASSESSMENTS AND THE WAY FORWARD
Special Seminar for Indonesian Young Scholars
The 15th Years of Indonesian Reform
Jakarta, 9-12 March 2013

Purnama Alamsyah | purnama.alamsyah@gmail.com

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Introduction

Gender issues are an important aspect of energy.

Gender defines access, ways of utilization,
opportunities and control over resources. Gender
also determines the needs, priorities, and
perspectives of men and women in different
societies.
Renewable energy itself is not gender neutral.
Renewable energy is a solution of energy crisis
that occurred in Indonesia.
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Introduction (2)

Renewable Energy as an alternative energy is

necessary for sustainable development and
poverty reduction.
Renewable energy, if properly managed, could
serve as effective development tools and support
gender mainstreaming strategies and the
achievement of the MDGs

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Methodology

The research methodology was used descriptive analysis and designed

including literature review, individual interview, and location survey
Review of literature: renewable energy, gender mainstreaming,
and the MDGs.
Individual interviews: individual interviews were conducted
towards various stakeholders from the Directorate General of
Electricity and Energy Utilization Ministry of Energy and Mineral
Resources, HIVOS, Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Business
and Economy Institute populist (IBEKA), PT Perhutani V, and
Regional Government of West Java Province. In addition,
interviews were conducted also with men and women in some
rural areas of Indonesia.
Location survey

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Gender and Renewable Energy Policies in Indonesia

Gender mainstreaming strategy was reinforced with the passing

of Presidential Instruction (Inpres) No. 9 year 2000 on Gender
Mainstreaming in National Development
In 2009, the Ministry of National Development / National
Development
Planning
Agency
(BAPPENAS)
No.Kep.30/M.PPN/HK/03/2009 issued Decree regulating the
establishment of a steering committee and a technical
committee for gender-responsive budgeting & planning.
Presidential Regulation (PP) No. 5/2006 on the National Energy
Policy.
Blue Print National Energy Management 2006-2025

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Gender and Renewable Energy Policies in Indonesia (2)

The implementation of gender mainstreaming
policies in various fields, especially renewable
energy, cannot be implemented optimally

There is still a gender-bias on development policies,

and the lack of disaggregated data availability of
various development sectors, and the assumption
that the gender gap is not an important issue
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Gender Mainstreaming in Indonesian Renewable Energy

One of the problems faced by Indonesia is providing domestic

energy for its people, especially in rural areas. Energy in rural
areas may be characterized by inadequate energy supply,
unreliable services, and heavy reliance on traditional fuels such
as firewood and charcoal.
Most of the energy consumption in rural Indonesia is for cooking
and lighting.

Source: Dian Desa

Source: Biogas BIRU

Source: Biogas BIRU

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Gender Mainstreaming in Indonesian Renewable Energy (2)

Source: Dian Desa

Source: Dian Desa

The position of women in many ways, especially in

rural areas of Indonesia, is marginalized so they are
very vulnerable to discrimination which resulted in
a lack of access to energy, education, health and
land to produce.
Most of the women are responsible for the
procurement and management of household
energy, access towards energy has a specific gender
dimension.
Biomass Cooking Crisis such as fuel shortages,
health problems for children and women due to the
use of traditional fuels such as firewood and
charcoal, workload excess of having to gather fuels,
lack of socialization and access to education and
health, and low opportunities on increasing their
income.
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Gender Mainstreaming in Indonesian Renewable Energy (3)

Renewable energy programs in Indonesia, particularly in rural areas,

brought by government, universities, NGO, and R&D institutions, through
various financing schemes such as grants, loans, and subsidies.
In practice, the determination of who will get the renewable energy
technologies are determined through a village meeting attended by
village officials, farmer or farmer group leaders, or any
representatives of the group that mostly consist of men.
In the households, determination to take renewable energy
technologies are typically based on the results of the dialogue
between men and women, which ultimately the decision is in the
hands of men as heads of households.
Renewable energy helps rural communities in addressing the energy
crisis. Energy crisis experienced by rural people, especially women, has
made them work longer hours than men in terms of providing household
energy in order to survive, such as collecting fuel, cooking, cultivating
agricultural land, and so on.

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Gender Mainstreaming in Indonesian Renewable Energy (4)

There are many energy technologies such as furnaces and stoves

that are not gender-responsive. A possible explanation obtained is
that technology of furnaces and stoves were designed and built by
men, that does not consider gender aspects such as how women
would use it. As a result, women using it then experience
difficulties and problems later on.
Renewable energy can provide optimum benefits if users are given
an understanding of the given technology. Many renewable energy
programs such as those conducted by IBEKA through micro hydro
power plant and HIVOS through Indonesian Domestic Biogas
Program (BIRU), has trained users of renewable energy
technologies to manage these technologies independently.
Women and men are trained not only on a technical but also nontechnical issues related to the renewable energy technologies that
were brought.
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Gender Mainstreaming in Indonesian Renewable Energy (5)

Source: Biogas Biru

Source: Dian Desa

Renewable energy usage in some areas, has

given wide opportunities for women to be
more actively participate in and make a lot of
productive activities also reducing their
workload in collecting firewood and avoiding
indoor smoke that can impair their health.
Women have more spare time that can be
used for socializing, discussing with their
children, and also engaging in productive
activities such as establishing food and crafts
business

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Gender Mainstreaming in Indonesian Renewable Energy (6)

Renewable energy, like micro hydro, provides

lighting, cooking, and electrical needs on a
small scale thus contribute to reduce
women's working time on household chores,
improving health due to indoor air pollution,
and increasing women's income through
productive economic activities
Renewable energy provides benefits in
keeping the environment clean, because
livestock waste and agricultural waste are
not disposed of in vain then therefore pollute
the environment such as rivers and soil. In
some locations using biogas energy, women
utilize biogas waste or bio-slurry as fertilizer
for their farms and sell the rest
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The Relation of Gender Mainstreaming, Renewable Energy and MDGs

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The Relation of Gender Mainstreaming, Renewable Energy and MDGs (2)

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Conclusions

Indonesia has had a policy of gender mainstreaming namely

Presidential Instruction No. 9 Year 2000. Associated with renewable
energy, renewable energy development on the basis described in
Indonesian Presidential Regulation Number 5/2006 on the National
Energy Policy. Both of this policy and its supporting regulations try to
synergy renewable energy development with gender mainstreaming so
that National Development Goals can be realized.
Many renewable energy programs carried by central government, local
government, universities, R&D Institutions and NGOs to improve
energy access in rural communities, especially in Indonesia.
Renewable energy in Indonesia is useful to address the crisis of
biomass cooking
In addition, renewable energy can help to empower women to actively
participate in the social, political and economic. The benefits of
renewable energy in gender mainstreaming also supports the MDGs
for being run by the government, NGO, etc.

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Conclusions

Some of the challenges gender mainstreaming facing in

policies and programs of renewable energy in Indonesia
such as
mismatch between policies and implementation that
occurred in the program of renewable energy
most renewable energy programs that focus on women
have failed to recognize the importance issue that
looking at energy issues in the context of socioeconomic; and
renewable
energy programs cannot be run
independently by each institution
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Thank you !