Local Governance of Peatland Restoration in Riau, Indonesia: A Transdisciplinary Analysis

This open access book is one in a series of four volumes introducing peatland conservation and restoration in Indonesia. It focuses on local governance, in particular on regional and local perspectives in Riau, the most peat-destructed province of Indonesia. The book fills a vital gap in the existing literature that overlooks social science and humanities perspectives. Written by authors from different disciplines and backgrounds (including scholars and NGO activists), the approaches to the topic are various and unique, including analysis of GPS logs, social media, geospatial assessments, online interviews (conducted due to the Covid-19 pandemic), and more conventional questionnaires and surveys of community members. The chapters cover an interdisciplinary understanding of peatland destruction and broadly offer insights into environmental governance. While presenting combined studies of established fieldwork methodologies and contemporary technology such as drones and geospatial information, the book also explores the potential of long-distance research with rural communities through online facilitation, which was brought about by Covid-19, but that may have long­term implications. Readers will gain a comprehensive understanding of the complexities surrounding peatland conservation and restoration and recognize the significance of locally inclusive approaches that use contemporary but accessible technologies to sustainably govern the globally important resource of peatland. That approach would be useful for other environmentally fragile but important regions and give some ideas to achieve the United Nations’ SDGs for 1)No Poverty, 5)Gender Equality, 13)Climate Action, 15)Life of Land.

Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. Contentious Politics of Mapping for (De)forestation in Indonesia: From the National to Provincial and Community Levels -- Chapter 3. Selling Peatland for the Future: History, Land Management, and the Transformation of Common Land in Rantau Baru -- Chapter 4. Inferring Recent Changes in Fish Fauna in the Middle Reaches of the Kampar River: Survey Results from the Fishing Village of Rantau Baru -- Chapter 5. Fisheries of the Rantau Baru and Kampar Rivers, Sumatra, Indonesia -- Chapter 6. Rethinking the Local Wisdom Approach in Peatland Restoration through the Case of Rantau Baru: A Critical Inquiry to the Present-day Concept of Kearifan Lokal -- Chapter 7. The Dimension of Gender in Peatland Management in Rantau Baru Village -- Chapter 8. Village Initiatives for Fire Prevention and Peatland Restoration in Riau after the Enactment of the 2014 Village Law -- Chapter 9. Willingness to Pay for Environmental Conservation of Peat and Aquatic Ecosystems in a Cash-Poor Community: A Riau Case -- Chapter 10. The Value of Participatory Mapping, the Role of the Adat Community (Masyarakat Adat), and the Future of the Peatlands -- Chapter 11. The Inequity Implications of Peatland Conservation Policies -- Chapter 12. Integrated Spatial Ecosystem Services Valuation Approach with Community Participation in a Social Forestry Scheme -- Chapter 13. Conclusion.