Rescaling conflictive access and property relations in the context of REDD+ in Jambi, Indonesia Dissertation zur Erlangung des mathematisch-naturwissenschaftlichen Doktorgrades "Doctor rerum naturalium" der Georg-August-Universität Göttingen im Promotionsprogramm Geowissenschaften / Geographie der Georg-August University School of Science (GAUSS) vorgelegt von Dipl. Geogr. Jonas Ibrahim Hein Geboren in Berlin Göttingen 2016 Betreuungsausschuss: Prof. Dr. Heiko Faust Abteilung Humangeographie, Geographisches Institut, Fakultät für Geowissenschaften und Geographie, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen Dr. Fariborz Zelli (Associate Professor) Department of Political Science, Environmental Politics Research Group, Lund University (Sweden) Prof. Dr. Christoph Dittrich Abteilung Humangeographie, Geographisches Institut, Fakultät für Geowissenschaften und Geographie, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen Mitglieder der Prüfungskommission Referent: Prof. Dr. Heiko Faust, Abteilung Humangeographie, Geographisches Institut, Fakultät für Geowissenschaften und Geographie, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen Korreferent: Dr. Fariborz Zelli (Associate Professor), Department of Political Science, Environmental Politics Research Group, Lund University (Sweden) 2. Korreferent: Prof. Dr. Christoph Dittrich, Abteilung Humangeographie, Geographisches Institut, Fakultät für Geowissenschaften und Geographie, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen Weitere Mitglieder der Prüfungskommission: Prof. Dr. Michael Flitner, Artec, Forschungszentrum Nachhaltigkeit, Universität Bremen Dr. Lukas Giessen, Abteilung für Forst- und Naturschutzpolitik und Forstgeschichte, Fakultät für Forstwissenschaften und Waldökologie, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen Dr. Markus Keck, Abteilung Humangeographie, Geographisches Institut, Fakultät für Geowissenschaften und Geographie, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen Tag der mündlichen Prüfung: 15.04.2016 I Summary Deforestation and forest degradation are contributing approximately 10% to 15% to global greenhouse gas emissions (Van der Werf et al. 2009). The Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) mechanism, as an international payment for ecosystem service scheme, aims to create financial incentives for expanding protected areas in the Global South. REDD+ has been framed as a „win-win“-solution by donors, conservation organizations and corporate actors facilitating simultaneously forest conservation, rural development and cost-effective climate change mitigation (Allianz 2014; Angelsen et al. 2012; Pagiola 2011; Virgilio et al. 2010). But the expansion of protected areas is seldom a conflict-free process, especially when local communities have to cope with the simultaneous expansion of large-scale agro-industrial estates (Brad et al. 2015; Eilenberg 2015; Fairhead, Leach, and Scoones 2012; Hein et al. 2015; Zimmerer 2006; Kelly 2011). A fundamental requirement for REDD+ is “good governance” and an unambiguous, clearly defined and preferably individualized and western-oriented understanding of property (Doherty and Schroeder 2011: 66; Larson et al. 2013: 678; Zelli et al. 2014: 37). However, exactly the carbon- rich tropical frontier forests are located in regions where forest and land tenure are highly contested (Naughton- Treves and Wendland 2014: 1). In particular Indonesia’s last remaining frontier areas are heavily contested spaces that are witnessing violent conflicts on access and control of forest land (Hein et al. 2015; Tsing 2005). This dissertation aims to unravel the causes and the scalar dimension of conflictive and unequal access and property relations in the context of an emerging transnational framework for forest conservation to mitigate climate change (REDD+). While empirically focusing on conflictive forest and land tenure in Indonesias REDD+ pilot province Jambi (Sumatra) this dissertation seeks to contribute to the deconstruction of REDD+ as a “win-win” solution. The overarching research question of this dissertation is: How are multi-scalar land conflicts on access and property in REDD+ target areas structured and how can this be explained? Conceptually this study is guided by political ecology and by the interrelated politics of scale literature. The study seeks to bring forward empirical and conceptual discussions within political ecology on the roles of scale and power for accessing land and property. For investigating multi-scalar land conflicts on access and property in REDD+ pilot areas this study builds on a multi-sited qualitative approach (multi-sited ethnography). Different qualitative techniques such as semi-structured interviews, expert interviews, participatory observation, group interviews and document analysis have been used at different field sites. Empirical research has been conducted mainly in villages’ located within or adjacent to two REDD+ pilot projects and at transnational nodes II of REDD+ and land tenure governance in the province of Jambi (Sumatra), in Jakarta, Germany and elsewhere. Nodes of REDD+ governance include actors such as the Ministry of Forestry (MoF) in Jakarta, provincial authorities, transnational NGOs, donor agencies and companies that are linked through transnational scalar networks to REDD+ pilot sites. The findings show that social conflict has changed scales of meaning and regulation and led to the construction of new scales (e.g. village scales of land tenure regulation). In Indonesia resistance was made possible because of changing power constellations after regime change at the end of the 1990s and has further changed the power constellation in place. Changing power constellations and rescaling facilitated access to the state forest (kawasan hutan) for local elites. The studied conflicts on access and control of forests within REDD+ projects in Jambi indicate that REDD+ has transnationalized and has changed meanings and implications of pre-existing land conflicts. REDD+ links greenhouse gas emitters in the global North to peasants and indigenous groups struggling for land and property in the global South. REDD+ rescales conflicts and provides entry points for a spatial expansion of resistance linking peasants to transnational climate justice groups in North and South. Thus, REDD+ pilot projects in Jambi financed by private and public donors changed the dialectical relationships between structure and agency. They reduced the ability to access land for some actors, provided additional opportunities for others and provided additional agency for transnational resistance campaigns of peasant movements allied with climate justice organizations. Moreover, the findings of this study explain in detail what it means that transnational conservation initiatives and market-based conservation instruments such as REDD+ are not acting in a social and political vacuum. Understanding the historical context is of key importance for solving land conflicts in the context of conservation interventions. In landscapes characterized by historically contingent structural inequality caused by the neglect of customary land rights expanding conservation areas might reinforce inequality, existing power asymmetries and social conflict. The ongoing land conflicts on access and control of forests in Jambi as well as experiences from other countries implementing REDD+ such as Peru (Zelli et al. 2014) indicate that forest carbon offsetting is a very risky strategy to mitigate climate change. Instead of avoiding emissions forest carbon offsetting could lead to additional greenhouse gas emissions if conflictive access and property relations undermine the integrity of forest areas designated for conservation and carbon offsetting. III Zusammenfassung Entwaldung und Walddegradation verursachen ca. 10% bis 15% der globalen Treibhausgasemissionen (Van der Werf et al. 2009). REDD+ (engl. Abkürzung Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) ist ein internationaler Mechanismus, der finanzielle Anreize für die Ausweitung von Schutzgebieten im globalen Süden schaffen soll. Geber, Umweltschutzorganisationen und Unternehmen bezeichnen REDD+ als eine „win-win“ Lösung. Es wird argumentiert, dass REDD+ Waldschutz, ländliche Entwicklung und eine kosteneffiziente Reduktion von Treibhausgasen ermöglicht (Allianz 2014; Angelsen et al. 2012; Pagiola 2011; Virgilio et al. 2010). Die Ausweitung von Schutzgebieten geschieht jedoch selten konfliktfrei. Dies gilt im besonderen Maße, wenn die ländliche Bevölkerung mit der gleichzeitigen Ausweitung von agro-industriellen Großplantagen konfrontiert ist (Brad et al. 2015; Eilenberg 2015; Fairhead, Leach, and Scoones 2012; Hein et al. 2015; Zimmerer 2006; Kelly 2011). Als wesentliche Voraussetzung für eine erfolgreiche Umsetzung von REDD+ gilt gute Regierungsführung (good governance), eine klar definierte Bodenordnung und ein individualisiertes westliches Verständnis von Eigentum (Doherty and Schroeder 2011: 66; Larson et al. 2013: 678; Zelli et al. 2014: 37). Die besonders kohlenstoffreichen tropischen Regenwälder liegen jedoch meist in Regionen in denen die Bodenordnung umkämpft ist (Naughton-Treves and Wendland 2014: 1). Insbesondere Indonesiens Waldrandlagen gelten als umkämpfte Räume. Der Zugang und die Kontrolle von Land und Wäldern ist durch fortlaufende, teils gewalttätige Aushandlungsprozesse gekennzeichnet (Hein et al. 2015; Tsing 2005). Diese Dissertation untersucht die Ursachen für und die skalare Dimension von konfliktiven und ungleichen Eigentums- und Landzugangsverhältnissen im Kontext eines entstehenden transnationalen