By Infokom PB AMAN
Secretary General of the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN) Rukka Sombolinggi stated that Indigenous Peoples and other community groups are often accused of lacking the capacity to manage various global funding schemes. Yet, Indigenous Peoples possess the capacity to safeguard the earth.
"We are always justified that Indigenous Peoples, farmers, fishermen do not have the capacity and we are always held hostage by the term capacity."
Secretary General of the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN) Rukka Sombolinggi
Rukka also said that the capacity was only assessed by the ability to write on paper, not by other capacities such as planting and caring for trees, weaving, protecting water sources, catching fish in traditional ways, and others that exist in the village.
Rukka said the world report also stated that the way to get out of the multidimensional crisis is to protect the earth through legal protection.
At the UNFCCC Climate Change Conference (COP 10) in Glasgow, studies showed that 80 percent of the planet's climate remains sustainable thanks to the protection of Indigenous Peoples, farmers, fishers, women's groups, and youth. This sparked donor commitments to increase climate finance.
However, when further investigation was conducted, Rukka said, it turned out that only a trickle of tap water had reached the community during the dry season from all climate and forest funding.
According to Rukka, this is due to several factors, one of which is that support is limited to intermediary institutions, which require proposal-writing and English skills. Furthermore, most of the funding is spent on international travel, seminars, expert funding, and other expenses.
"That's why 93 percent of it doesn't reach the villages. And even then, of the 7 percent that does reach the villages, only 7 percent flows to Asia and Indonesia," Rukka explained during a seminar on "Direct Funding for the Struggle of Indigenous Peoples, Farmers, Fishermen, Women, and Youth Movements in Indonesia" at the MPL building in Waingapu, East Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara, on September 18, 2025.
"The people have aspirations, and we must support them. Therefore, the Nusantara Fund is part of the scheme WALHI-it is to support the ideals of the people's organization".
Executive Director WALHI National, Zenzi Suhadi
Secretary General of the Agrarian Reform Consortium (KPA) Dewi Sartika explained that the Nusantara Fund was present as a joint consensus, and was positioned not only as a source of money but also as a support system for the strength and social capital that already existed at the grassroots level. ""That's why the Nusantara Fund is just a mechanism," he explained.
"The Nusantara Fund also serves as a bridge to strengthen the principles of the Indigenous Peoples, Agrarian, and Environmental Movement. The Nusantara Fund is also expected to be a catalyst at the regional, local, and village levels to strengthen collaboration within existing movements nationally."".
Secretary General of the Agrarian Reform Consortium (KPA) Dewi Sartika)
Three Organizations Launched
The Nusantara Fund was officially launched by the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN), Agrarian Reform Consortium (KPA), and the Indonesian Environmental Forum (WALHI) in Jakarta on May 8, 2023.
The launch of the first Nusantara Fund in Indonesia aims to provide direct funding to Indigenous Communities, Farmers, Fishermen, Women, and Youth Groups with a proposal scheme so that they can move more massively in protecting the earth for the survival of humanity in the future.
Prior to its launch, the Dana Nusantara distribution mechanism has been piloted since December 2022 in 30 different locations across Indonesia, including West Sumatra, Bengkulu, Jambi, West Java, East Java, East Nusa Tenggara, and North Maluku.
Easy Access
Yustina from Obor Lestari, one of the DaNus aid recipients, stated that her group proposed accessing and becoming a beneficiary of the DaNus direct funding mechanism.
"It's very easy, and the group can understand the mechanisms and rules of DaNus. The Obor Lestari group accessed Rp 98 million from DaNus for a three-month program."
Yustina from Obor Lestari
Yustina explained that she initially attended an event invited by Walhi National. At the event, she gained an overview of the information and learned about the direct funding mechanism. The timeline from accessing the funds to the realization of the funding was only three months.
This article was published at https://aman.or.id/news/read/2206 with the title "Dana Nusantara: Strengthening Indigenous, Agrarian, and Environmental Movements."
