The Social License to Restore—Perspectives on Community Involvement in Indonesian Peatland Restoration

Abstract

The tropical peatlands of Indonesia are widely recognized as a globally significant carbon stock and an important provider of crucial ecosystem services. However, in recent years they have been increasingly degraded. The Indonesian government has attempted to involve communities in peatland restoration efforts. These attempts were made in recognition of (1) the important role livelihood activities play in land degradation processes and (2) the ‘gatekeeping’ and stewardship role local communities play in ensuring the durability and longer-term effectiveness of restoration activities. Engaging communities has proven challenging for many reasons, but particularly because of the historical distrust local communities have towards land management interventions. In this article, we borrow the concept of a social license to operate (SLO) from the business management literature to understand why and how community involvement impacts peatland restoration in Indonesia. We introduce the concept and conceptual models of a social license to restore (SLR). As a result of engaging with our perspective, readers will be able to identify how issues of government distrust, low levels of community participation, and poverty—and the counterfactual—may impact the longer-term success of restoration initiatives and how a social license to restore may expedite progress in restoration. Secondly, discussing and linking the multi-faceted issues of peatland restoration will highlight its relevance within the land, biodiversity and human well-being nexus.

Prediction of Peatlands Forest Fires in Malaysia Using Machine Learning

“…At the five layers, four inputs and nine inputs reach the highest correlation, namely 0.846 for four inputs and 0.886 for nine inputs. (7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13), and red indicating extreme risk (>13). Overall, the color zones in the upper and lower subplots are similar, except for some discrepancies on 25th and 27th January, where the predicted FWI shifted from green to yellow, and on 6th March, where a blue risk level was predicted as green.…”

“…Peatland forest fires meet this definition because they can harm the environment, biodiversity, human lives, and property. The rapid spread and intensity of forest fires can lead to the loss of valuable vegetation, the destruction of habitats, the release of greenhouse gases, and the disruption of ecosystem services [7]. Currently, large-scale forest fires have been listed by the United Nations as one of the eight natural disasters in the world [8].…”

“…The upper subplot displays the distribution of the FWI published by METMalaysia, while the lower subplot shows the FWI predicted by the neural network. The color bar in the middle of the figure represents the FWI risk level, with blue indicating low risk (0-2), green indicating moderate risk (2-7), yellow indicating high risk(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13), and red indicating extreme risk (>13). Overall, the color zones in the upper and lower subplots are similar, except for some discrepancies on 25th and 27th January, where the predicted FWI shifted from green to yellow, and on 6th March, where a blue risk level was predicted…”

Land Cover Change and Food Security in Central Sumba: Challenges and Opportunities in the Decentralization Era in Indonesia

“…Regional income ideally follows Indonesia Law Number 28/2009 regarding local taxation and charging [56]. RA, normatively, brings efficiency, transparency, and accountability in governing people and attracts business; unfortunately, numerous studies have shown that these local regulations are counterproductive in some aspects, including for the agricultural sector and environment [57][58][59], particularly in the forestry sector [60,61].…”

Livelihood Alternatives in Restored Peatland Areas in South Sumatra Province, Indonesia

“…Efforts employed to exploit peatlands to meet human needs often neglect sustainability. Several studies have identified issues related to peatland mismanagement, including land use, law enforcement, community capacity, economic rentseeking, exploitation of forest products (wood and non-wood), and climate change [1,[4][5][6].…”