Local responses to changing contexts of natural resources management : case study at Lembang sub-watershed of West Sumatra, Indonesia | |
| Author | Mahdi |
| Call Number | AIT Diss. no.NR-08-01 |
| Subject(s) | Natural resources--Sumatra (Indonesia)--Management Watershed management--Sumatra (Indonesia) |
| Note | A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Natural Resources Management, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Dissertation ; no. NR-08-01 |
| Abstract | Indonesia has been experiencing dramatic changes since the mid 1990s. The Asian economic crisis in 1997 profoundly affected Indonesia, throwing the country into deeper turmoil and leading to social and political unrest. In order to respond to the crisis situation, the central government adopted tremendous measures such as the decentralization of local governrnent, changing the regulations on forest and water resources management, and the adoption of macroeconomic structural adjustments. In addition to changes that occurred at the economic and political level, changes at the natural level during the same period have led to an increase in natural disasters such as the occurrence of la-nina and el-nino phenomenon. These changes have affected the people at the local level both directly and indirectly. This research studied the response of local people both at the collective and individual levels to the changing natural resources management context. Collective responses were observed from institutional changes while individual responses were observed from changes in households' livelihood. Changes in local institutions were analyzed on the basis of the design principles, while livelihood changes were analyzed by looking at the changes in access to capital assets and livelihood strategy of the local community. Rural rapid appraisal (RRA) and household surveys were carried out in the upland and lowland areas of the Lembang sub-watershed, West Sumatra, Indonesia in order to identify local institutions and their changing dynamics during the period of 1996 to 2006. Changes in access to capital assets and livelihood strategy during the same period were assessed through the household surveys. Local institutions for forest and water management have been experiencing changes during the last decade in Indonesia. The return to indigenous governance arrangement through the nagari system is the institutional response at the local level to the decentralization of local governrnent by the replacement of the Desa system of village administration over all of Indonesia. Nagari is the lowest political unit of the Minangkabau ethnic group, to which almost all of the people in the study site belong. Within this framework, adat leaders, the head of each clan within a nagari who make up the Kerapatan Adat Nagari (KAN, or Nagari customary law council), currently try to re-enforce their authority over forest land management within the nagari. Due to uncertainties regarding the rules governing the exercise of their authority, conflicts arose between adat leaders and the people of nagari who have cultivated the land. The changes taking place with the authorities of the nagaris, which also include the forest management institutions, do not faithfully follow the design principles. The nagaris in the upland of the Lembang sub-watershed have clearly identified users and clearly demarcated physical boundaries of forest resources, a more congruence of regulations. Within the nagari, people have better collective-choice arrangements and graduated sancion, but are still weak in monitoring, and conflict resolution management, although the new national forest law recognizes the right of local people to organize their activities over forest resources utilization. For water management, government and NGOs have introduced water user associations (WUA) during the last three decades along with "green revolution" by replacing the traditional "tuo banda" irrigation institutions. When decentralization and return to nagari were implemented, the central governrnent also handed over the authority of irrigation management to the farmers in accordance with the new water resource law. Some projects to empower WUAs were implemented, such as providing guidance on organization of basic rules through provision of formal recognition of WUAs. Most WUAs, however, do not meet the criteria set by the design principle of long enduring local institutions for CPR management. Although they have clearly defined physical and users' boundaries, more congruence of rules and better recognition of the right to organize, they are still weak when it comes to collective-choice arrangement, monitoring, conflict resolution mechanism. We also analyzed changes of households' livelihood in both the upland and lowland part of Lembang sub-watershed in West Sumatra at two separate points in time, 1996 and 2006. Generally, people in lowland have better access to capital asset than people from upland. There has been better access to human and natural capital in lowland, but less access to social capital and no significant changes in access to social and physical capital asset during last ten years. Low and middle income groups of lowlanders got lesser access to social capital asset, while there was no significantly different change in access to human, physical, natural and financial capital asset among different income groups. In upland, people with low income had less access to capital assets than people from middle and high income groups. The analysis also revealed that access to capital assets has increased over time, and poor households experienced economic improvement. Migration, job diversification and agricultural intensification were the livelihood strategies that were mostly chosen by the households in response to the above mentioned dynamics natural resources management context, to changes in institution and to changes in access to capital assets. Therefore, external facilitation is needed both to improve the livelihood of Lembang sub-watershed inhabitants, and currently enhancing the sustainability of watershed management. Strengthening local institutions, conserving natural resources, and promoting environmentally sound agricultural practices are the three most important policies to be promoted within the watershed. |
| Year | 2008 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Dissertation ; no. NR-08-01 |
| Type | Dissertation |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Development and Sustainability (DDS) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Natural Resources Management (NRM) |
| Chairperson(s) | Shivakoti, Ganesh P.; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Schmidt-Vogt, Dietrich;Thapa, Gopal B.;Schultink, Gerhardus; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Ford Foundation;Andalas University;Asian Institute of Technology Fellowship; |
| Degree | Thesis (Ph.D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2008 |