Abstract
Balancing economic growth with international commitments to environmental sustainability is a global challenge. One of the main objectives of this study is to address this challenge by stimulating and sustaining motivation for environmental conservation by means of a comprehensive rethinking of the values inherent in nature and the limitations of monetary approaches to biodiversity valuation. This is achieved based on a case study of a transboundary ecological conservation project, the Heart of Borneo (HoB) in Borneo Island, covering Kalimantan in Indonesia, Borneo Malaysia comprising the states of Sarawak and Sabah, and Brunei Darussalam. This study synthesizes critical insights into the multiple ranges of life-supporting environmental values embedded in the HoB natural capital to enhance stronger motivations for environmental conservation. The study also reports on evidence gathered from extensive field studies conducted in Borneo Malaysia, confirming the correlations between environmental beliefs in value pluralism, ecological action, and environmental sustainability, and its implications for sustainable resource use and management. The synthesis is expected to serve as practical guidance for sustainable resource and environmental management decision-making, which is conceptually and universally applicable.
Highlights
Environmental decisions affect the natural system and people in diverse ways
The present study, framed under concrete research settings based on theoretical assessments and supported by empirical evidence, contributes to a greater understanding of how the broad spectrum of values attributable to the Heart of Borneo (HoB) serve as a cornerstone of environmental sustainability
Indonesia and Malaysia are two of the world’s largest palm oil exporters. Both countries together account for 85 percent of global palm oil production, with Indonesia positioned as the largest global palm oil producer [29]
Summary
Environmental decisions affect the natural system and people in diverse ways. For example, while massive conversion of forests to oil palm plantations results in enormous economic benefits in export earnings, it will lead to extensive habitat destruction. To the indigenous forest dwellers, the natural environment is widely viewed as a natural system embedded in a web of cultural, social, ecological, and economic values Their resource use patterns are intrinsically based on a diversity of interests, plurality of values, and cultural or ethical positions; this is called value pluralism. Its wide spectrum of values, which underscore the perceptions of the natural environment and the motives for environmental conservation, are rarely recognized or explicitly taken into account in dominant resource development decision-making. Identifying and recognizing these values is, crucial for guiding sustainable resource use and policymaking
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