Political Ecology of REDD+ in Indonesia
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Political Ecology of REDD+ in Indonesia Indonesia’s commitment to reducing land-based greenhouse gas emissions significantly includes the expansion of conservation areas, but these developments are not free of conflicts. This book provides a comprehensive analysis of agrarian conflicts in the context of the implementation of REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) and forest carbon offsetting in Indonesia, a country where deforestation is a major issue. The author analyzes new kinds of transnational agrarian conflicts which have strong implications for global environmental justice in the REDD+ pilot province of Jambi on the island of Sumatra. The chapters cover: the rescaling of the governance of forests; privatization of conservation; and the transnational dimensions of agrarian conflicts and peasants’ resistance in the context of REDD+. The book builds on an innovative conceptual approach linking political ecology, politics of scale and theories of power. It fills an important knowledge and research gap by focusing on the socially differentiated impacts of REDD+ and new forest carbon offsetting initiatives in Southeast Asia, providing a multi-scalar perspective. It is aimed at scholars in the areas of political ecology, human geography, climate change mitigation, forest and natural resource management, as well as environmental justice and agrarian studies. Jonas I. Hein is a Researcher at the Institute of Geography, Kiel University, Germany, and Associate Researcher at the German Development Institute/ Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik in Bonn, Germany. He completed his PhD in Human Geography at the University of Goettingen, Germany. Routledge Studies in Political Ecology The Routledge Studies in Political Ecology series provides a forum for original, innovative and vibrant research surrounding the diverse field of political ecol- ogy. This series promotes interdisciplinary scholarly work drawing on a wide range of subject areas such as geography, anthropology, sociology, politics and environmental history. Titles within the series reflect the wealth of research being undertaken within this diverse and exciting field. Political Ecology of the State The Basis and the Evolution of Environmental Statehood Antonio Augusto Rossotto Ioris Political Ecologies of Meat Edited by Jody Emel and Harvey Neo Political Ecology and Tourism Edited by Sanjay Nepal and Jarkko Saarinen Environment and Society in Ethiopia Girma Kebbede Political Ecology of REDD+ in Indonesia Agrarian Conflicts and Forest Carbon Jonas I. Hein For more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/ Routledge-Studies-in-Political-Ecology/book-series/RSPE Political Ecology of REDD+ in Indonesia Agrarian Conflicts and Forest Carbon Jonas I. Hein First published 2019 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2019 Jonas I. Hein The right of Jonas I. Hein to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Hein, Jonas I., author. Title: Political ecology of REDD+ in Indonesia agrarian conflicts and forest carbon / Jonas I. Hein. Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2019. | Series: Routledge studies in political economy | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2018032992 (print) | LCCN 2018045320 (ebook) | ISBN 9781351066020 (eBook) | ISBN 9781138479319 (hardback) | ISBN 9781351066020 (ebk) Subjects: LCSH: Deforestation—Indonesia. | Deforestation—Social aspects—Indonesia. | Greenhouse gas mitigation—Indonesia. | Carbon offsetting—Indonesia. Classification: LCC SD418.3.I5 (ebook) | LCC SD418.3.I5 H45 2019 (print) | DDC 333.75—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018032992 ISBN: 978-1-138-47931-9 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-351-06602-0 (ebk) Typeset in Bembo by Apex CoVantage, LLC Contents Acknowledgments vii List of figures and tables ix 1 Introduction 1 Introducing the politics of REDD+ and peasant resistance 3 A guide through the book 9 2 Conceptual, theoretical and methodological underpinning for a political ecology of transnational agrarian conflicts 11 Political ecology 12 Linking social-spatial theory with conservation territories and property relations 13 Conceptualizing power and resistance 21 Key arguments 27 Multi-sited qualitative research 29 3 Rescaling of the governance of forests and land in Indonesia 38 The history of Indonesia’s forest and land tenure governance 38 Access to different types of de jure land and forest rights 51 Jambi’s contested landscapes: from dispossession and development to conservation 56 De facto land tenure and the “making” of new property in the state forest territory 69 Counter territories and settlement schemes prior to the formation of the Harapan Rainforest project 76 Village-scale peat-swamp conversion and settlement schemes in the surroundings of the Berbak Carbon Initiative 83 Summary and preliminary conclusion 87 vi Contents 4 REDD+, privatization and transnationalization of conservation in Indonesia 96 REDD+ governance and attempts to commodify forest carbon 96 Indonesian REDD+ governance 105 Privatization and transnationalization of conservation: conservation concessions and co-management 114 Summary and preliminary conclusion 128 5 Transnationalized agrarian conflicts in the REDD+ 132 The formation of resistance movements and alternative scales of meaning and regulation 134 Agro-industrial expansion, land concentration and violence at Jambi’s oil palm frontier 139 Conservation vs. agrarian reform: conflict between SPI and the Harapan Rainforest 141 The conflict about Kunangan Jaya I: defending village expansion 148 We are here to stay: the conflicts in Camp Gunung and Tanjung Mandiri 156 Peasants, migrants and the state: conflicts among state apparatuses concerning access to and control of the Berbak Carbon Initiative 158 Summary and preliminary conclusion 164 6 Conclusion: towards a political ecology of transnational agrarian conflicts 169 Elements for a political ecology of transnational agrarian conflict 171 Final remarks: implications for REDD+, uneven development and future directions of research for political ecology 182 References 184 Index 210 Acknowledgments Many colleagues and friends helped me to complete this book. This research would not have been possible without the support of Endri- atmo Soetarto, Soeryo Adiwibowo and Rina Mardiana from IPB and Rosyani from UNJA. I am really grateful for your advice, for the opportunity to benefit from your great networks, for engaging with RISTEK and for your inspiration. Moreover, I would like to thank Heiko Faust, Fariborz Zelli and Christoph Dittrich. I am really thankful for your support, for engaged discussions and your supportive pragmatism. At CAU Kiel, I would like to thank Silja Klepp for constructive feedback on chapters, giving me the time to finish this book and for the generous support of her chair for copy editing. Moreover, I would like to thank Sarah Hartwig, Mytree Delfs and Lasse Nissen for their great support. At my former workplace, the German Development Institute, I would like to thank especially Carmen Richerzhagen. Thank you, Carmen, for your critical and encouraging feedback, commenting on draft chapters, manuscripts, pres- entations and proposals. Furthermore, I would like to express my gratitude to Ines Dombrowsky. Thank you, Ines, for your trust and for providing me the freedom to develop my own ideas. Special thanks to Jean Carlo Rodriguez. I really benefitted from our critical discussions, extended coffee breaks, your knowledge and your feedback. A very huge “thank you” to all student and research assistants from IPB, UNJA, University of Göttingen and German Development Institute, especially to Arie, Syakir, Niklas Rehkopp and Peter Hermes. Thanks Arie and Syakir for your company, for traveling with me, for your energy and your efforts. It was a great time. Thanks Niklas and Peter for your patience during endless phone calls and for preparing most of my maps for papers, conference presentations and for this book. Moreover, I am thankful to the project coordinators Wolfram Lorenz in Bogor, Bambang Irawan in Jambi and Annette Koehler-Rahm in Bonn. You did a great job! Thank you Yvonne Kunz, Barbara Beckert, Stefanie Steinbach and Michael Miessner for your constant support, intense discussions and for finding answers. I wish you all the best! viii Acknowledgments On a personal note I would like to thank my friends and family. First of all, to my dearest Marie and to my son Ben; your love gave me the force for staying on track during this long way. I would also like to thank my friends Thorsten, Björn and Alex for all your personal support. I am especially grateful to my family, to Wolfgang, Jamin and Brigitte for all your care and trust. Last but not least I would like