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

https://doi.org/10.24259/fs.v4i1.9569
Micah R. Fisher
- Forestry Faculty, Universitas Hasanuddun - University of Hawaii, National Disaster Preparedness Training Center. -Affiliate Faculty at the Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8246-2318
Bart Verheijen
- Forestry Faculty, Universitas Hasanuddin, Indonesia - University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6687-3101
Muhammad Alif K. Sahide
Universitas Hasanuddin
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4908-0323

Corresponding Author(s) : Muhammad Alif K. Sahide

alif.mksr@gmail.com

Forest and Society, Vol. 4 No. 1 (2020): APRIL

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 an organizing framework for continuing to study these issues, charts new horizons for future research.

Keywords

ASLi framework adat-state-livelihood community-based conservation Wallacea
Fisher, M. R., Verheijen, B., & Sahide, M. A. K. (2020). Community and conservation in Wallacea: Making the case for the region, a methodological framework, and research trends. Forest and Society, 4(1), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.24259/fs.v4i1.9569
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Author Biographies

Micah R. Fisher, - Forestry Faculty, Universitas Hasanuddun - University of Hawaii, National Disaster Preparedness Training Center. -Affiliate Faculty at the Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution
Scopus Author ID: 56430331600. Micah Fisher is a faculty member at Hasanuddin University School of Forestry, where he serves as co-editor in chief of Forest and Society. His research interests revolve around issues of land, water, and disaster. He is particularly interested in applications of technology and their role in public engagement. Micah is also currently serving in a post-doc position with the University of Hawaii National Disaster Preparedness Training Center in Honolulu. He also consults for the Wold Bank in their Water Practice group and is a research associate at the Dala Institute.
Bart Verheijen, - Forestry Faculty, Universitas Hasanuddin, Indonesia - University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
I, Bart Verheijen (1985), completed a PhD in political and cultural history on the Napoleonic era (2017). During my studies in the Netherlands, Belgium and France I touched on a broad range of topics including the historical development of nationalism, colonialism and political culture. My publications include books and articles on culture and identity in the early nineteenth century and Dutch colonial history. My professional experience comes from teaching at different international university institutes and faculties. I taught courses in Yangon, Myanmar and currently. I am teaching in Universitas Hasanuddin, Makassar, Indonesia
Muhammad Alif K. Sahide, Universitas Hasanuddin
Scopus Author ID: 56426498600 : ResearcherID: I-8568-2017.Forest Policy and Entrepreneurship Laboratory, Forestry Faculty.Muh Alif Sahide is an associate professor at Forestry Department of Universitas Hasanuddin.  He acts as a reviewer of ~15 manuscripts annually for forest politics and governance in an international journal.  
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