Rethinking Slash-and-Burn Agriculture: Slowing Down the Progress for Sustainability

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<div>Slash-and-burn agriculture is often depicted as a "primitive" or "traditional" form of farming, closely tied <span style="font-size: 1rem;">to the way of life of indigenous communities. The Dayak Benuaq people, who live in the upstream areas of </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Kutai Barat, East Kalimantan, continue to practice this method to this day. Anthropologists have extensively </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">documented this agricultural model, revealing its potential sustainability when practiced in balance with </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">ecological processes. This paper aims to explore the strong connections between slash-and-burn farming </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">and indigenous ecological succession, while also encouraging a rethinking of the concept of metabolism </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">within this agricultural system. By incorporating the framework of ‘degrowth,’ it becomes evident that </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">slash-and-burn agriculture embodies principles of allowing the soil and environment to recuperate during </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">fallow periods. In the context of the rapid expansion of monoculture plantations, such as oil palm and </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">rubber, in Kalimantan, this study seeks to demonstrate how slash-and-burn agriculture is adapting to the </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">pressures of global commodity crop production. Through a systematic literature review, our findings </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">highlight that the Dayak Benuaq community is not isolated but instead demonstrates resilience and </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">adaptability by integrating sustainable practices with global commodity changes. This research seeks to </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">address two main questions: (1) What is the relationship between slash and-burn agriculture and </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">ecological succession, and (2) how has this farming method adapted to accommodate commodity crops like </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">oil palm? By answering these questions, the study discusses the role of ecological succession in sustaining </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">indigenous agricultural practices and how these practices are being reshaped in response to broader </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">environmental and economic forces</span></div>