Community and conservation in Wallacea: Making the case for the region, a methodological framework, and research trends

Abstract

This introduction provides a review of articles published in the special section on community conservation in the Wallacea region. As editors to the special section, we worked with contributors over a series of workshops to reflexively identify challenges to conducting research on community and conservation in this important and often overlooked region. The challenges are attributable to the dynamism and remoteness of the region, as well as its peripheral position relative to the center of government in Indonesia. We begin this article by making the case for a concerted field of study for the Wallacea region. Next, we draw on empirical research and continued engagement from across Wallacea to propose a framework that helps make better sense of the often perplexing trends involving communities and conservation in the region. We call the framework ASLi, which addresses the key institutions that negotiate conservation and development, including Adat and adaptive local institutions and the State. We situate these institutions within the dimensions of Livelihoods and their relations with natural resources. In testing out the framework with research groups and practitioners from across the region, we found that each of the aspects of the framework are fundamental for better understanding and facilitating policy discussions involving communities and conservation. In the second part of the article we shift our attention to assessing the empirical contributions from the special section. The empirical examples include eight articles from across the provinces of Sulawesi, East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku, and North Maluku. The issues range from topics that include: illegal species trade; human environment relations around charismatic species (e.g. komodo-community relations); watersheds, lakes, and landscapes; ecotourism; policy analysis; conservation management and planning; and, community participation and collaborative governance. There is much that remains misunderstood and misinterpreted about the Wallacea region. This initial set of consolidated and rich empirical material, combined with

Land and power framework for assessing Ecosystem Essential Area policy

“…Among commons lands (namely customary and Indigenous) land, international conservation regimes have elevated the principle of recognizing indigenous rights for conservation area management and Free and Prior Informed Consent. We recognize the complexity and various forms of rules, rights, and responsibilities that shape the commons [14] , [15] , [16] , [17] …”

Navigating power in conservation

“…Decisions to intervene in socio‐ecological contexts with the objective of conservation must be at least supported and at best, driven by local communities. They should also only be done after carefully clarifying underlying values and assumptions and subjective differences between institutions and actors (see Section 3.1; Fisher et al, 2020) and account for and consider the different types of power (Table 1). Even well‐designed and intentioned conservation interventions need to be legitimized by those who these interventions will affect (Dekker et al, 2020; Larrosa et al, 2016; Nayak, 2021b; Robbins, 2012) (Table 2; Appendix S1, Case 3).…”

SKRINING KOMPONEN BIOAKTIF EKSTRAK BAMBU LAUT (Isis hippuris) DARI PERAIRAN SULAWESI TENGAH

“…Penelitian mengenai potensi bioaktivitas organisme laut kelas Octocorallia yang dikoleksi dari perairan Sulawesi Tengah telah banyak dilakukan, di antaranya antifeedant , antibakteri Salanggon et al, 2020;Muliadin et al, 2021), antioksidan (Dewanto et al, 2019;, inhibitor nitric oxide , dan inhibitor NFkB (Riyadi et al, 2019). Perairan Sulawesi Tengah menyimpan potensi kelas Octocorallia yang besar, apalagi perairan Sulawesi Tengah terletak di daerah Wallace yang merupakan daerah dengan biodiversitas yang unik dan berbeda dari perairan Indonesia Barat dan Timur (Fisher et al, 2020).…”