Empowering Woman in Coastal Community To Fight Climate Crisis

Globally, there are many examples of women’s knowledge and expertise being overlooked by scientists, decision makers, and even community organisations. Women’s work is often regarded as domestic and thus less significant than men’s work, even when women’s work involves managing mangroves, sustaining diverse communities of life, and educating the next generation. This is also the case in Papua, where outsiders are often seen as the real experts in conservation and development. When women’s expertise is minimised over a long period of time, women may not see themselves as experts, and thus not assert their knowledge and authority when they might. So, we see our project as both helping to reveal and document knowledge that has historically been ignored, and affirming for Indigenous women and communities that women’s work with mangroves is a critical form of expertise that should inform current and future responses to the climate crisis.”