Democratization and the Politics of Environmental Claim-Making

Abstract

The rapid expansion of the Indonesian pulp industry has caused considerable environmental problems. Some argue that the state and the industry have addressed this issue rather successfully through technological amendments and effective civic involvement without hindering economic growth, which could be described as a path towards ecological modernization. However, the problems caused by Indorayon, Indonesia's first pulp and rayon company, show that this path can neglect the social aspects of sustainable development, without fully respecting the political rights of the local people, even after the end of authoritarian rule. In both the Suharto and post-Suharto periods, the state and Indorayon successfully prevented the civil society movement from making effective claims relating to their environmental concerns through oppression and a ‘scientific’ discourse emphasizing the economic and environmental aspects of the factory operations. Recognizing that such efforts have resulted in long-lasting social conflicts, this article illustrates the limit of the impact of democratization on environmental policy making in Indonesia, and the difficulties in using ecological modernization as a policy guideline for a sustainable society in the global South.

Networking in environmental movement organisation coalitions: interest, values or discourse?

“…However, only one of these studies explicitly investigates activism using a conceptual framework that refers to networking of SMOs (Nomura 2009). Most studies present either detailed analyses of single episodes of activism or broad historical and policy analyses.…”

Gaining Access to the State: Political Opportunities and Agency in Forest Activism in Indonesia

“…Today the movement is formed by varied organizations from public interest lobbies, to professional protest organizations, participatory pressure groups and participatory protest organizations. A forest-rich nation with a long pattern of dispossession of forest dependent communities for the sake of 'development' (Peluso, 1992;Potter, 2009), Indonesia has attracted international EMOs and donors to support forest conservation and features a domestic environmental justice movement fighting for recognition of local forest rights (Nomura, 2009;Peluso, et al, 2008). EMOs working on forest tenure focus on diverse issues (from conservation to local livelihoods), represent a variety of constituencies (from Western conservationists wanting to save orangutans, to local farmers growing rice and collecting forest products) and use protest action as much as lobbying to demand policy change (Di Gregorio, 2011).…”

Gerakan Kewarganegaraan Ekologis sebagai upaya Pembentukan Karakter Peduli Lingkungan

“…Oleh karena itu, diperlukan gerakan lingkungan yang berupaya melakukan penyadaran atas saling ketergantungan manusia dan alam yang dapat memengaruhi pola hidup dan perilaku manusia (Kalidjernih, 2011 (Smith & Pangsapa, 2008). Program bersih-bersih pantai, pembibitan mangrove, penanaman pohon mangrove diwujudkan dengan kesadaran bersama untuk mewujudkan kewarganegaraan ekologis (Nurmayanti & Harmanto, 2017 (Nomura, 2009).…”