The Faculty of Forestry, through the Forest and Society Research Group (FSRG), has successfully managed to win research funding from the Explore program with the research entitled “Fair for Whom? Comparing Politics, Power, and Precarity in Southeast Asia’s Transformations of Tropical Forest-Agriculture Frontiers (Indonesia Chapter) – Fair Frontier Indonesia”. Explore is a research network committed to advancing and applying knowledge about forest landscape governance in Southeast Asia. Explore was launched in October 2020 with funding from the Swedish Agency for International Development Cooperation (SIDA). The Regional Community Forestry Training Center for Asia and the Pacific (RECOFTC), in collaboration with the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), organises the network.
The research will be conducted in collaboration with the University of West Sulawesi (Unsulbar), the Payo-Payo School for Smallholder Farmers (SPR), and several research institutions based outside Indonesia, such as East-West Center Hawaii in the United States and the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN) in Japan. RIHN and all organisations also members of the FairFrontier project in Southeast Asia (Laos, Malaysia) and Africa (Cameroon, Congo) will be involved during the research process to expand the case study locations to Indonesia.
Prof. Dr. Forest. Muhammad. Alif KS, S.Hut, M.Si, the head of FSRG, described that the suggested study topic is the transformation of forest area landscapes into commodity-based agriculture. In addition, this can also explain how this transition leads to justice for the entire community, particularly vulnerable groups such as women. Countries that make various options available to investors have resulted in more licences for forest area management and the conversion of rural land into large-scale plantation areas for industries such as oil palm, pulp, and mining (coal, nickel, and manganese). This research will also be conducted in a community in South Sulawesi Province, looking at how access programs such as social forestry affect livelihoods, vulnerable populations, women’s groups, and other aspects of environmental justice.
This research will be conducted from 2023 to 2027 and will prioritise gender discourse, particularly with women, as parties who are frequently ignored even in the context of transforming forest environments. This study will use participatory action research (PAR) to inspire action and involvement among the research team and stakeholders. This project will also help to achieve SDG 3 (good health and well-being), SDG 5 (gender equality), SDG 15 (life on land), and SDG 16 (peace, justice, and strong institutions).