Indonesia’s 11-year (1989–1999) National Integrated Pest Management Program was a spectacularly successful example of wide-scale adoption of integrated pest management (IPM) principles and practice in a developing country. This program introduced the innovative Farmer Field School model of agro-ecosystem-based experiential learning, subsequently adapted to different crops and agricultural systems in countries throughout the world. Since the termination of the program in 1999, Indonesia has undergone profound changes as the country enters a new era of democratic reform. Government support for the national IPM program has wavered during this period, and pesticide producers and traders have taken advantage of the policy vacuum to mount an aggressive marketing campaign in the countryside. These factors have contributed to a reappearance of the pesticide-induced resurgent pest problems that led to the establishment of the National IPM Program in the first place.

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The turbulent events in Indonesia during the closing years of the 20th century prompted the reopening of public discussion on many longstanding issues of social and economic reform. Land reform is one of many agendas that have preoccupied policy makers, scholars and activists as the nation attempts to reinvent itself in the wake of the collapse of the 32‐year New Order government of ex‐President Suharto. This article examines some of the main debates swirling around the issue of land management and policy during the post‐Suharto ‘reformasi’ period, and provides illustrations of current problems and emerging trends. The article begins with a brief overview of land law and policy in Indonesia, followed by a discussion of its philosophical and ideological basis. This is followed by a discussion of government reform during the New Order period and beyond, and the social and environmental costs of Indonesia's development. The discussion then turns to efforts to decentralise government, and implications on land admin‐istration and policy. Case study examples are provided to illustrate the complex dynamic unfolding across the country.

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Peatlands play a crucial role in Indonesia's economic development, and in its stated goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Improved peatland management -including a national moratorium on the granting of any new conversion licenses -forms a cornerstone of Indonesia's climate change mitigation commitment. At the same time, rapid expansion of the plantation sector is driving wide-scale drainage and conversion of peat swamp ecosystems. The province of Riau, in central Sumatra, finds itself at the crossroads of these conflicting agendas. This essay presents a case study of three islands on Riau's east coast affected by industrial timber plantation concessions. It examines the divergent experiences, perceptions and responses of communities on the islands. A mix of dramatic protests, localised everyday actions and constructive dialogue has succeeded in delaying or perhaps halting one of the concessions, while negotiations and contestation with the other two continue. With the support of regional and national non-governmental organisations and local government, communities are pursuing alternative development strategies, including the cultivation of sago, which requires no peat drainage. While a powerful political economy of state and corporate actors shapes the contours of socio-environmental change, local social movements can alter trajectories of change, promoting incremental improvements and alternative pathways.