RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta — The Global Environment Facility–Small Grants Programme (GEF SGP) Indonesia is set to host the Raksha Loka Festival at M-Bloc Space, South Jakarta, on May 22–23, 2026. The festival is themed Protecting Nature, Protecting the Future.

It serves as both a celebration and an amplification platform for the achievements of community-based ecosystem restoration initiatives carried out over the past four years under Operational Phase 7 (OP7).

Since July 2022, GEF SGP Indonesia, together with 86 local partners, has been working across strategically four significant landscapes, which are the Bodri Watershed in Central Java, the Balantieng Watershed in South Sulawesi, the buffer zone of the Nantu Wildlife Reserve and the BJ Habibie Grand Forest Park in Gorontalo, and the island of Sabu Raijua in East Nusa Tenggara. These collective efforts have successfully addressed ecosystem threats ranging from deforestation and clean water crises to coastal degradation.

"The Raksha Loka Festival is more than a programme closing ceremony. It is a collective declaration that real solutions to the climate crisis already exist, and that they were born from the heart of Indonesia's local communities. We want to build a strategic bridge connecting action at the grassroots level with policy at the national level," said GEF SGP Indonesia National Coordinator, Sidi Rana Menggala.

The Musyawarah Belajar Mitra (Partners' Learning Forum) stands as one of the festival's central features, serving as a dedicated space for community representatives from across the Indonesian archipelago to convene and exchange knowledge. Topics span water conservation and fish habitat restoration in East Nusa Tenggara, renewable energy innovation in Sulawesi, and natural farming practices in Gorontalo.

The festival will also feature an Innovation and Knowledge Launch, includig the unveiling of a local wisdom publication and the Akal Lokal, a local knowledge database. Alongside these, the event will introduce the Business Support Through Investment (BUMI) programme, a post-grant sustainable financing model designed to ensure the longevity of community-led initiatives.

The festival will host a series of inclusive dialogues and cross-issue panel discussions examining the climate crisis through multiple lenses. Key themes include its intersection with gender justice, food security rooted in local food systems, and the role of urban communities in safeguarding biodiversity.

The event will host a green exhibition and bazaar showcasing products from partner micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). This area will also feature local food cooking demonstrations, a photography exhibition, and displays of environmentally friendly appropriate technology installations.

Designed around zero-waste principles, the festival aims to engage a broad spectrum of audiences, from youth and activists to academics, the private sector, and policymakers.

"We believe communities possess a great capacity to responsibly manage their own natural resources. When communities become the primary driving force, environmental sustainability and improved economic livelihoods will go hand in hand," said Sidi Rana Menggala.

Through the Raksha Loka Festival, GEF SGP Indonesia hopes that these proven, field-tested practices will be replicated in other regions. They also aim for these initiatives to receive broader policy support and funding from multiple stakeholders for the sake of the planet and future generations. (Annaila Azzahra/EN)