About the seminar

Many areas in Indonesia, including Wallacea region in the eastern part of the archipelago, are increasingly suffering from climate crisis and various climate-induced disasters. Flood, drought, extreme weather and extreme heat become more frequent and severe, worsen the livelihood of people in the region. The series of disasters severely damaged basic infrastructures such as water and sanitation, roads, health, education and agricultural facilities. These disasters facilitated significant environmental and social changes and produced multiple shocks that associated with various health problems as well as deteriorating people’s quality of life. Based on several interdisciplinary studies examining the intersection of climate crisis and health in Wallacea region that I led/co-led, we explored how climate crisis and climate-induced disasters intersect, triggered and worsened socio-health vulnerability and affect people’s health and wellbeing differently in the region. The studies found that some groups of people are more vulnerable (e.g. women and young girls, people with disability, the elderly, indigenous population) and therefore need to be supported and prioritised in climate and disaster mitigation. However, these vulnerable groups are by no means passive agent in facing climate crisis and climate-induced disasters. In most cases they showed various coping strategies and resilience to survive and to mitigate the impacts of the crisis and disasters. To be more effective, their resilience should be more supported by comprehensive Government policies and programs. To do so, our ability to work with and to learn from the lived experience of these vulnerable groups is essential.