“Women Are Leaders, Not Beneficiaries”: A Grassroots Voice at the CRPP Forum 2026

At the opening of the Community Resilience Partnership Program (CRPP)* Forum 2026, Ika Rachmani – a grassroots woman leader from Yakkum Emergency Unit Indonesia and member of the Huairou Commission – took the stage with a clear message: women are not waiting to be included in climate action. They are already leading it.

Speaking on behalf of women’s networks that have spent more than a decade responding to climate risks and disasters, Ika challenged the assumptions that still shape too much of development and climate policy. “Women are no longer mere beneficiaries of programmes,” she said. “Women are leaders in climate change adaptation efforts – and we have proven this at local levels.”

The communities she represents live with climate risk daily. Droughts, crop failures, unpredictable seasons  these are not abstract threats. They deepen poverty, widen inequality, and fall hardest on women, who simultaneously manage food systems, water resources, household economies, and community wellbeing. Yet the local knowledge women have built through this experience is rarely recognised as part of formal solutions.

Ika called for a shift in how adaptation work is designed and delivered – away from top-down programmes and toward processes built from the grassroots, from design through implementation and learning. “Women must sit as equal partners, not merely as programme participants,” she said. Climate planning that ignores women’s needs and perspectives misses where adaptation decisions are actually made: at the household and community level.

Her message to the forum was both a challenge and an invitation. Climate resilience requires long-term commitment, genuine inclusion, and a willingness to transform how institutions work. “When women are engaged as strategic partners, we are not only protecting communities today, but also building a more just, inclusive, and resilient future for the next generations.”

*The Community Resilience Partnership Program, co-developed by the Huairou Commission (Huairou), the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and other partners, works to scale up community-led climate action across the Asia-Pacific, with a focus on poverty, gender, and resilience.

This blog post is based on the opening keynote delivered by Ika Rachmani at Asian Development Bank’s Community Resilience Partnership Program (CRPP) Forum 2026. Ika Rachmani is a member of Yakkum Emergency Unit Indonesia, a Huairou Commission member organisation. This content was drafted with AI assistance; all perspectives and content reflect those of the speaker and the Huairou Commission.