Berau Coastal Women Strengthen Financial Literacy For Economic and Environmental Resilience

The Berau Regency Government, together with Yayasan Konservasi Alam Nusantara (YKAN), held a seminar titled Empowered Coastal Women: Managing Local Potential, Strengthening Family Economy to enhance women’s capacity in household financial management, develop local economic potential, and strengthen the economic resilience of families dependent on coastal ecosystems, especially mangroves. The seminar took place in Pegat Batumbuk Village on 21 July 2026 and Tabalar Muara Village on 23 July 2026, with around 150 participants in each location, aiming to broaden program benefits and reach more communities.

For Berau’s coastal communities, mangroves are vital to supporting fisheries and aquaculture, which are primary livelihoods. However, seasonal shifts and unpredictable harvests often affect community income. In such conditions, women play a crucial role in maintaining family economic resilience. Through this seminar, participants gained skills in managing household finances, identifying legal financial services, developing small businesses, and understanding that economic well-being is inseparable from sustainable coastal management.

In Pegat Batumbuk and Tabalar Muara, women’s groups have developed various aquaculture-based businesses, such as processing shrimp and milkfish into value-added food products. They also participate in sustainable shrimp farming by converting organic waste into compost and local microorganisms (MOL) to support eco-friendly aquaculture.

Tenteram Rahayu, Head of the Berau Regency Village Community Empowerment Office, stated that strengthening women’s capacity is a key part of regional development, particularly in coastal areas. According to her, financial literacy is an essential tool for fishing and aquaculture families whose incomes fluctuate with the seasons.

“Women contribute significantly to sustaining family economic resilience. The Berau Regency Government is committed to supporting empowerment programs that enhance women’s capacity to manage local potential productively and sustainably. When women become more empowered, family and community welfare grow stronger,” she said.

In addition to financial literacy, the seminar covered topics such as access to capital, entrepreneurship development, women’s role in disaster mitigation, and coastal area management. It also gave community groups that previously had no YKAN assistance access to information, capacity building, and business development opportunities.

“This seminar opened our eyes that women can not only manage family finances but also develop businesses from local potential. We also better understand that protecting mangroves and coastal areas means safeguarding our future income,” said Hasnah, a member of the Mandiri Fish Processing and Marketing Group (Poklahsar) in Tabalar Muara Village.

This seminar is part of YKAN’s collaboration with local and village governments to enhance coastal women’s empowerment through the Solutions for Marine and Coastal Resilience in the Coral Triangle (SOMACORE) Program in Berau Regency. It is also part of the KONEKSI Program, supported by the Governments of Australia and Indonesia, involving the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) to strengthen learning, research, and knowledge development for inclusive and sustainable development.

Conservation and Women’s Empowerment Go Hand in Hand

With the Berau Regency Government and various partners, YKAN implements community-based conservation programs such as mangrove protection and restoration, turtle monitoring, coastal governance strengthening, and sustainable livelihood development. Women are encouraged to play active roles not only as beneficiaries but also as decision-makers, entrepreneurs, and natural resource managers in their communities.

YKAN’s Ocean Program Director, Muhammad Ilman, emphasized that empowering women plays an integral role in sustaining coastal ecosystems.

“Conservation is not just about protecting coastal areas, but also ensuring that communities relying on these ecosystems can live more prosperously. When women gain access to knowledge, business opportunities, and sound financial management, they become agents of change at both family and community levels. This is why YKAN promotes an approach integrating conservation with community economic strengthening for long-term benefits,” he said.

Through this seminar, YKAN hopes more coastal women will be able to manage household finances, develop local business potential, and actively protect mangrove ecosystems as the foundation of coastal community livelihoods.