An overview of the potential impacts of interventions on diverse coffee agroforestry system to gender dynamics in Pagar Alam District, South Sumatera

This study was conducted through interviews (in-depth and semi-structured interview) and focus group discussions with coffee households and farmers in Pagar Alam District from September to October 2020. Two subdistricts were selected as focused study sites. These two subdistricts have received intervention from a project to enhance coffee farmers livelihood through diverse agroforestry systems, named Empower Project that has been running in the subdistricts since 2018. In total, 125 respondents were interviewed through semi-structured interviews to understand gender dynamics at the household level. Eight key informants were interviewed to understand the type of agroforestry interventions implemented and how they perceived it. To triangulate the interview data results, a series of four focus group discussions (FGD), disaggregated between women and men, were held in 4 villages of the 2 subdistricts. This study deployed a qualitative analysis to generate the results

Gendered Migration and Agroforestry in Indonesia: Livelihoods, Labor, Know-How, Networks

Migration connects land use in areas of origin with areas of new residence, impacting both through individual, gendered choices on the use of land, labor, and knowledge. Synthesizing across two case studies in Indonesia, we focus on five aspects: (i) conditions within the community of origin linked to the reason for people to venture elsewhere, temporarily or permanently; (ii) the changes in the receiving community and its environment, generally in rural areas with lower human population density; (iii) the effect of migration on land use and livelihoods in the areas of origin; (iv) the dynamics of migrants returning with different levels of success; and (v) interactions of migrants in all four aspects with government and other stakeholders of development policies. In-depth interviews and focus group discussions in the study areas showed how decisions vary with gender and age, between individuals, households, and groups of households joining after signs of success. Most of the decision making is linked to perceived poverty, natural resource and land competition, and emergencies, such as natural disasters or increased human conflicts. People returning successfully may help to rebuild the village and its agricultural and agroforestry systems and can invest in social capital (mosques, healthcare, schools)

Recognizing traditional tree tenure as part of conservation and REDD+ strategy

Reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD ) should focus on places where such emissions occur. Protected Areas (PAs) are, in theory, protected and hence, should have no emissions associated with land use/land cover change. In practice rotection is incomplete. Can PAs be included in REDD schemes? Can 'paper parks' be included that exist on paper rather than in reality? How concrete should threats be before we call carbon (C) protection 'additional'? The dilemma may be more manageable if protected areas are included in a broader landscape approach to REDD. Some REDD project proponents currently focus on 'buffer zones' where protection is incomplete, but biodiversity co-benefits of additional C protection can be large. The results of a REDD easibility appraisal in an area surrounding the Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia's REDD pilot province illustrate the challenges of finding synergies between sustaining livelihoods for local communities, protecting orangutans and globally appropriate mitigation actions

Co-existence of people and orangutan in Sumatra. Stabilising gradients for landscape multifunctionality

Multifunctional landscapes and species-rich agroforests can support biodiversity conservation. Command- and-control conservation approaches tend to create sharp distinctions between protected areas and surrounding agriculture. Can a village agroforest forest landscape gradient be stable? Or is it part of a continuous process of forest conversion that in the end will leave hardly any conservation values intact? The landscape of Batang Toru, Sumatra offers a case study. It is home to a genetically unique Sumatran orangutan population and to people of diverse backgrounds. It provides insight into the types of government policy and market-based instruments that are needed to stabilise the existing gradient

Communities’ Adaptation and Vulnerability to Climate Change: Implications for Achieving a Climate-Smart Landscape

Rural landscapes in many parts of Indonesia are rapidly being transformed, due to the expansion of agrocommodity plantations—oil palm in particular. At the same time, communities in those landscapes face declining crop yields and ecosystem degradation as a result of both climate and non-climate factors. We assessed local perceptions on climate stressors, adaptation and vulnerability using focus group discussions in Ketapang, West Kalimantan. We found that the main perceived climatic stressors were extreme and unpredictable seasons, fires, and saltwater intrusion, affecting ecosystem services and agricultural production. Land clearing and forest loss were mentioned as exacerbating non-climatic stressors. Respondents indicated willingness to adapt to these changes by investing in long-term measures, such as tree-planting. To adapt to yield declines, respondents indicated that many farmers shifted from rubber to oil palm. Such adaptation actions benefit households in the short term but may be at odds with long-term adaptation objectives at the landscape level. Finally, we found that perceptions about vulnerability differed between landscapes, and between communities at the landscape level and stakeholders at the district level. This stresses the importance of participatory and inclusive planning and multi-stakeholder processes towards context-based climate action planning to accommodate the differences in contexts and scale, and to reconcile the differences in perceptions

Swidden Transformations and Rural Livelihoods in Southeast Asia

This paper explores the major interactions between the transformation of swidden farming and the pursuit of rural livelihoods in the uplands of Southeast Asia. The paper draws on selected literature, workshop reflections, and six case studies to describe the causal processes and livelihood consequences of swidden change. Householdlevel livelihood responses have included both the intensification and ‘dis-intensification’ of swidden land-use, the insertion of cash crops, the redeployment of household labour, and the taking on of broader (often non-rural) livelihood aspirations and strategies. At the community level there have been emerging institutional arrangements for management of land and forests, and varying degrees of participation in or resistance to government schemes and programs. Swidden change has led to the loss and also the reassertion, realignment, and redefinition of cultures and identities, with important implications for access to resources. The impacts of these changes have been varied. Cash crops have often improved livelihoods but complete specialisation for the market increases vulnerability. Thus swidden can still provide an important safety net in the face of market fluctuations. Improved access to markets and social provision of education and health care have mostly improved the welfare of previously isolated groups. However, growing differences within and between communities in the course of swidden transformations can leave some groups marginalized and worse off. These processes of differentiation can be accentuated by heavy-handed state interventions based on swidden stereotypes. Nevertheless, communities have not passively accepted these pressures and have mobilized to protect their livelihood assets and strategies. Thus swidden farmers are not resisting appropriate and supportive forms of development. They are adopting new practices and engaging with markets, but in many situations swidden is still important to their livelihood strategies, providing resilience in the face of turbulent change. Active involvement of local people is essential in planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating development and conservation programs in swidden lands. Positive market incentives and supportive government policies are better than standardised, top-down directives

The Balance of Power in Household Decision-Making: Encouraging News on Gender in Southern Sulawesi

SummaryAnalyses of intra-household decision-making in Sulawesi are linked to gender issues shown to affect involvement in landscape management. These include agriculture, food, money, life chances, and attitudes toward domestic violence. The picture portrayed is encouraging, showing the social sophistication of a group often marginalized: This group shows considerable female involvement in decision-making and strongly democratic elements. We identify three issues that need greater attention—for equitable landscape management to result: women’s spheres of decision-making must be ascertained and taken into account, men’s involvement in care needs to expand, and women’s agency requires enhancement and external support

Swidden transformations and rural livelihoods in Southeast Asia

This paper explores the major interactions between the transformation of swidden farming and the pursuit of rural livelihoods in the uplands of Southeast Asia. The paper draws on selected literature, workshop reflections, and six case studies to describe the causal processes and livelihood consequences of swidden change. Household-level livelihood responses have included both the intensification and ‘dis-intensification’ of swidden land-use, the insertion of cash crops, the redeployment of household labour, and the taking on of broader (often non-rural) livelihood aspirations and strategies. At the community level there have been emerging institutional arrangements for management of land and forests, and varying degrees of participation in or resistance to government schemes and programs. Swidden change has led to the loss and also the reassertion, realignment, and redefinition of cultures and identities, with important implications for access to resources. The impacts of these changes have been varied. Cash crops have often improved livelihoods but complete specialisation for the market increases vulnerability. Thus swidden can still provide an important safety net in the face of market fluctuations. Improved access to markets and social provision of education and health care have mostly improved the welfare of previously isolated groups. However, growing differences within and between communities in the course of swidden transformations can leave some groups marginalized and worse off. These processes of differentiation can be accentuated by heavy-handed state interventions based on swidden stereotypes. Nevertheless, communities have not passively accepted these pressures and have mobilized to protect their livelihood assets and strategies. Thus swidden farmers are not resisting appropriate and supportive forms of development. They are adopting new practices and engaging with markets, but in many situations swidden is still important to their livelihood strategies, providing resilience in the face of turbulent change. Active involvement of local people is essential in planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating development and conservation programs in swidden lands. Positive market incentives and supportive government policies are better than standardised, top-down directive