Sri Lestari will present a PhD Thesis Proposal Review (TPR) seminar on ‘Decision-Making and Policy Implementation for Indonesian Peatland Restoration: Are Households the Forgotten Key Actors?’

Abstract

Peatland restoration remains a major imperative for the Indonesian government and international agencies due to the huge impact their degradation has on the economic, social, and ecological services that they can provide. As with any other developmental intervention, the success of restoration depends upon how the policies and strategies at different scales consider stakeholder involvement and household livelihood dynamics. A gap in current understanding is about how decision-making takes place within the households that are involved in restoration efforts, and how their interests and behaviors are influenced by policy interventions that are imposed from above. This study investigates how policies made at different governance levels – central government, regional levels, and local levels have shaped, supported, or hindered peatland restoration programs and initiatives. It also investigates householding dynamics, including how the community participates in the restoration agenda, the transitioning of community livelihoods to those compatible with restored peatland, and the gender impacts of these transitions. The research is field-based; it uses tools such as field observations, interviews, and focus group discussions to develop necessary evidence base for advanced theoretical and practical insights into the peatland restoration regimes in two locations in Central Kalimantan. This research will contribute to the development of a pathway for achieving a more sustainable peatland restoration that considers intra-household gender and livelihood dynamics.

Biography

Sri Lestari is a PhD student at Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University. Her PhD research explores the decision-making, policy implementation, and householding in peatland restoration areas. She works for the National Research and Innovation Agency of Indonesia as a researcher. Prior to that, she worked at the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry in the same field of expertise. During her career, she was engaged in various research training, conferences, and research projects related to social forestry, agroforestry, market development, forest management, environmental economics, and peatland restoration.

Seminar host: Dr Simon West

PhD supervisory panel: Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt, Steven Crimp and Daniel Mendham

Speaker website