Suchergebnisse

The long borderland in Kalimantan between Indonesia and East Malaysia is partly mountainous and environmentally unique, its three national parks forming the core of a tri-nation 'Heart of Borneo' initiative proposed by environmental NGOs and ratified in 2006. More accessible lowlands in West Kalimantan and the north of East Kalimantan constitute a typical 'resource periphery' in which strategic considerations, persisting through the Suharto years, now intersect with a range of new political, economic and cultural demands. A perception by the central government of increasing lawlessness in the borderlands arose in the turbulent years following Suharto's fall, during 'reformasi' and the beginnings of decentralisation. In addition to smuggling and illegal logging, contests over land use erupted at various scales. Proposals to construct an oil palm corridor along the border, begun by the Megawati government and extended by some sectors of the Yudhoyono regime, were part of a quest for greater legibility and control on the part of the central authorities. The paper specifically examines the power struggles that arose over that project and its inevitable outcome, a central government back down. However, the current palm oil boom is bringing new corporate planting, which may eventually succeed in 'taming' the borderlands.

The long borderland in Kalimantan between Indonesia and East Malaysia is partly mountainous and environmentally unique, its three national parks forming the core of a tri-nation 'Heart of Borneo' initiative proposed by environmental NGOs and ratified in 2006. More accessible lowlands in West Kalimantan and the north of East Kalimantan constitute a typical 'resource periphery' in which strategic considerations, persisting through the Suharto years, now intersect with a range of new political, economic and cultural demands. A perception by the central government of increasing lawlessness in the borderlands arose in the turbulent years following Suharto's fall, during 'reformasi' and the beginnings of decentralisation. In addition to smuggling and illegal logging, contests over land use erupted at various scales. Proposals to construct an oil palm corridor along the border, begun by the Megawati government and extended by some sectors of the Yudhoyono regime, were part of a quest for greater legibility and control on the part of the central authorities. The paper specifically examines the power struggles that arose over that project and its inevitable outcome, a central government back down. However, the current palm oil boom is bringing new corporate planting, which may eventually succeed in 'taming' the borderlands.

Ecuador is the second largest producer in Latin America of crude palm oil and is the seventh largest producer worldwide, but with yields per hectare still lower than Colombia and Costa Rica. Although producers with over 1 000 hectares have the leadership in the palm oil industry, 87% of producers produce with less than 50 hectares. Moreover, the deforestation rate in Ecuador is ranked by FAO as the ninth highest in the world and the highest in South America. The African palm plantations have been criticized for causing deforestation and worsening work conditions. However, government sectors see the oil palm companies as a source of employment and development for poor regions. This fieldwork shows that there is a difference in perception among small farmers. Farmers from Quinindé-La Concordia were satisfied with the income they earn and the rising prices of land planted with palm. Farmers in San Lorenzo, in contrast, are not happy since the survey shows that a disease devastated trees and as a result, land prices have fallen in San Lorenzo. ; Ecuador ocupa el segundo lugar en Latinoamérica en la producción de aceite crudo de palma y es el séptimo productor a nivel mundial, aún con rendimientos más bajos comparados con Colombia y Costa Rica. A pesar de que los productores de más de 1 000 hectáreas tienen el liderazgo en la industria de la palma, el 87% produce menos de 50 hectáreas. Por otra parte la tasa de deforestación del Ecuador ocupa el noveno puesto en la escala de FAO como una de las más altas del mundo y la más alta de América del Sur; las fincas de palma africana han sido criticadas por estar involucradas en la deforestación y por promover la precarización del trabajo. Sin embargo, sectores del gobierno ven las compañías de palma de aceite como una fuente de empleo y desarrollo para una región pobre. El trabajo de campo realizado demuestra que hay una diferencia de percepción de los pequeños agricultores. Los agricultores de Quinindé-La Concordia se mostraron satisfechos con los ingresos que obtienen y con el alza de los precios de la tierra plantada con palma. Los agricultores de San Lorenzo, por el contrario, no están felices, ya que la encuesta demuestra que una enfermedad devastó los árboles y como resultado, los precios de la tierra en San Lorenzo han caído.

'There is an energizing boldness in this synthesis: the right big-picture questions aligning all the way down to the right complexities on the ground, and across the diverse territories that comprise contemporary Borneo. A manifesto for the kinds of cross-sectoral and applied research that can make the difference to the future of Borneo.' - Cynthia Ong, Chief Executive Facilitator, Forever Sabah'A surgical and timely compendium on the transformation of Borneo's forests and land use with clear regional implications. If you care about the future of conservation in this part of the world, you will find all the key ingredients here for its salvation.' - Gopalasamy Reuben Clements, Professor at Sunway University, Co-founder of Nature-Based Solutions 'A perspective about balancing the future amidst the need for economic and social development while providing a better and more sustainable Borneo. It is something that you will need to help drive home change and make a sustainable impact for people and planet without compromising profit.' - Timothy Ong, Head of Circular Bio-economy Unit, Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA)

AbstractBased on empirical research, this article examines the status, situations and development issues of rural women displaced by the monumental Three Gorges Project (TGP) in China. The study reveals that TGP resettlement is leaving women worse off as family members, as well as worse off than male members. Woman resettlers are more likely to become impoverished than men, partly because women make up the main labour force in agricultural sectors. Most women are unable to achieve occupational mobility in the process of resettlement. Fewer employment opportunities, a gender‐segregated labour market, low level of human capital and social prejudice are principal causes. Land provision for resettlers is inadequate with a lower quality of productivity. Marriage is a means for some women to remain in or move to the reservoir area to improve their socio‐economic status, but bias against granting of 'resettler' status to married women and their generally low levels of education and lack of occupational skills work against them. It is imperative that the authorities integrate a gender perspective into policy‐making and design of resettlement schemes.

This article takes a new look at the economic value and cultural significance of Imperata cylindrica grasslands in Indonesia, drawing particularly on fieldwork in Bali, Lombok and West Timor, where the focus is on the use of alang‐alang grass for roof thatch. The development of tourism has resulted in the commodification of thatch in Bali and Lombok for quality roofing and insulation. With its visual impact reinforcing its traditional cultural significance, the thatched roof has become a tourist artefact, its resulting high price elevating Imperata to the status of temporary cash crop and lucrative export. In West Timor, on the other hand, the grass has become a scarce commodity for roofing traditional houses. While it lacks the high prices of Bali‐Lombok, in Timor the cheapness of thatch in this time of economic crisis has increased its value over alternatives. This article explores the valuing and revaluing of Imperata within various agro‐ecological and economic niches, and provides case studies of some of the highly adaptive and opportunistic responses of local people to land‐use change. While the Bali case represents an extreme example of the grass as commodity, the more significant view of its value is the place it continues to occupy, in a subsistence or contingency sense, in many rural economies.

This paper examines the major trends since the 1950s in social science writing on forest management in Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia is simultaneously rich in and dependent on natural resources, both for local and national use or sale. Among renewable resources, forest products have played critical roles in the region's national, provincial, and local economies before, during, and after colonialism — for as long as two millennia. Their importance in international trade illustrates that Southeast Asia's forests linked the region to other parts of the world for quite some time, dispelling myths that parts of the region such as Borneo were "remote", "primitive", or "pristine".

For centuries swidden was an important farming practice found across the girth of Southeast Asia. Today, however, these systems are changing and sometimes disappearing at a pace never before experienced. In order to explain the demise or transitioning of

For centuries swidden was an important farming practice found across the girth of Southeast Asia. Today, however, these systems are changing and sometimes disappearing at a pace never before experienced. In order to explain the demise or transitioning of