Hadi Suwono, Singgih Dwi Prasetyo
This review synthesizes research on how higher education institutions in Indonesia address climate change challenges through policy development, practical implementation, and research initiatives to address fragmented policy coherence, limited indigenous knowledge integration, and underdeveloped collaborative governance. The review aimed to evaluate climate change policy development, benchmark sustainability implementations, identify research initiatives, analyze collaborative frameworks, and assess indigenous knowledge integration within Indonesian higher education institutions (HEIs). A systematic analysis of qualitative, quantitative, and bibliometric studies published up to 2024 focused on institutional policies, green campus programs, research outputs, and stakeholder collaboration. Findings reveal that while HEIs demonstrate institutional commitment through sustainability policies aligned with global frameworks, national-level guidance remains inconsistent, hindering policy effectiveness. Practical implementations show measurable outcomes in emission reductions and resource conservation, yet face infrastructure, supervision, and scalability challenges. Research contributions include innovations in mitigation technologies and interdisciplinary approaches, though constrained by limited resources and methodological heterogeneity. Collaborative governance involving universities, governments, and communities is recognized as vital but is impeded by cultural and institutional barriers. Indigenous knowledge integration is acknowledged as critical for climate adaptation but remains sporadic and insufficiently institutionalized. These findings underscore the multifaceted but uneven engagement of Indonesian HEIs in climate action. Strengthening policy coherence, enhancing multi-stakeholder collaboration, and systematically incorporating indigenous knowledge are essential to advance HEIs’ roles in national and global climate resilience efforts. © 2025 The authors. This article is published by IIETA and is licensed under the CC BY 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, State University of Malang, Malang, 65145, Indonesia; Center of Research and Innovation in STEM Education, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, State University of Malang, Malang, 65145, Indonesia; Power Plant Engineering Technology, Faculty of Vocational Studies, State University of Malang, Malang, 65145, Indonesia
