Just transition in biofuel development towards low-carbon economy: multi-actor perspectives on policies and practices in Indonesia.

Justice and sustainability are the foundation of fair and equitable biofuel development. Policies and practices are consequently necessary to support a just transition towards a low-carbon economy. Therefore, this study aimed to understand multi-actor perspectives on policies and practices relevant to the just transition in biofuel development. Applying a socio-legal approach based on the JUST framework, this study focused on the Indonesian biofuel industry, which is primarily driven by crude palm oil (CPO) production. This study also added comparative perspectives from Thailand's biofuel industry. The primary data were gathered from in-depth interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs), while the secondary data were from research, policy, and other government archives. Based on the results, oil palm plantations in Indonesia and Thailand are crucial for macroeconomic development. However, smallholder farmers in Indonesia, especially independent ones that do not join farmer groups, remain marginalised by the current regulations. In fact, many benefits from biofuel practices and policies accumulate disproportionately towards large corporations, while marginalised groups bear the costs. The Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certification that should induce market accessibility and competitiveness has not fully reached most rural farmers. Furthermore, various overlapping regulations and perplexing data differences exist from multiple ministries and administrative levels. Thus, palm oil stakeholders in Indonesia demand a dedicated institution for integrated regulation and monitoring of the industry, similar to the National Palm Oil Policy Committee in Thailand. The myriad of legal, political, socio-economic, and justice issues thus necessitates all hands on deck to ensure a just transition for all stakeholders of the Indonesian biofuel industry

Design Methodology for Appropriate Technology: Engineering as if People Mattered

Since the emerging of its idea circa four decades ago, Appropriate Technology (AT) had been proven as a comprehensive solution in a limited condition. However, practitioners & academia have different opinions with engineers on how an AT must be designed. Researchers had noted the crucial factors in the issue as such, and they gave a notion of the urgency for a dedicated design methodology for AT. This study, therefore, aims to provide it. Such methodology is developed by incorporating AT characteristics, fundamental issues in community empowerment, and the principles of existing design methodologies. The methodology emphasizes combination between bottom-up and top-down design approaches. It means that an AT must be started purely from local conditions rather than given technical specifications, and be given back to local people to be seamlessly integrated into their routines. It also underlines the crucial importance of community involvement throughout design stages. By looking at previous design methodologies that were developed based on pure Engineering Problem Solving (EPS), this study delivers a fresh and comprehensive one that covers surrounding issues and concepts to produce an AT based on the real meaning of technological appropriateness

Distance-Dependent Migration Intention of Villagers: Comparative Study of Peri-Urban and Remote Villages in Indonesia

Rural-to-urban migration disturbs essential factors of rural development, including labor forces, land ownership, and food production. To avoid late responses to emigration, scholars have begun investigating earlier stages of rural emigration. However, prior studies have focused on a single spatial entity only while also leaning toward trends in developed countries. Therefore, this study fills gaps by focusing on the differences in migration intention between villages in less developed settings. In observing the differences, this research takes peri-urban and remote villages as cases located at different distances from their nearest urban destination. This study treats migration intention as the dependent variable while using single-indicator place attachment and multi-indicator information sources as the independent variables. This work applies the Mann–Whitney U, ANOVA, and Brown–Forsythe tests on three hypotheses. This research also uses SEM-PLS to investigate the correlation model of the observed variables for each case. The results show that information sources negatively affect migration intentions in peri-urban settings. Remote rural areas also show similar results for the information sources variable; however, place attachment in remote settings significantly contributes to migration intention. These results show that place attachment and information sources contribute differently, depending on the distance to the urban area. We argue that access to public services and infrastructure contributes to the results. The findings suggest that an increased availability of information sources impedes the formation of migration intentions. Thus, this study suggests the necessity of improving rural infrastructure and public services to improve information literacy. It helps the government control rural emigration while fulfilling its obligation for rural development. It also offers better rural livelihoods during the development progress, providing economic incentives for villagers to stay in villages

Distance-Dependent Migration Intention of Villagers: Comparative Study of Peri-Urban and Remote Villages in Indonesia

Rural-to-urban migration disturbs essential factors of rural development, including labor forces, land ownership, and food production. To avoid late responses to emigration, scholars have begun investigating earlier stages of rural emigration. However, prior studies have focused on a single spatial entity only while also leaning toward trends in developed countries. Therefore, this study fills gaps by focusing on the differences in migration intention between villages in less developed settings. In observing the differences, this research takes peri-urban and remote villages as cases located at different distances from their nearest urban destination. This study treats migration intention as the dependent variable while using single-indicator place attachment and multi-indicator information sources as the independent variables. This work applies the Mann–Whitney U, ANOVA, and Brown–Forsythe tests on three hypotheses. This research also uses SEM-PLS to investigate the correlation model of the observed variables for each case. The results show that information sources negatively affect migration intentions in peri-urban settings. Remote rural areas also show similar results for the information sources variable; however, place attachment in remote settings significantly contributes to migration intention. These results show that place attachment and information sources contribute differently, depending on the distance to the urban area. We argue that access to public services and infrastructure contributes to the results. The findings suggest that an increased availability of information sources impedes the formation of migration intentions. Thus, this study suggests the necessity of improving rural infrastructure and public services to improve information literacy. It helps the government control rural emigration while fulfilling its obligation for rural development. It also offers better rural livelihoods during the development progress, providing economic incentives for villagers to stay in villages