Landscapes In Indonesia Research Articles

Romanticizing the Past, Glorifying the Future

Development is a consistent element in the implementation of Indonesian policies. However, it has become increasingly challenging, particularly following the decline of the New Order regime and Indonesia’s rejection of certain political practices associated with it. This paper aims to present a reflective analysis of the evolving nature of development, from its initiation under the New Order regime to the present post-Reformation era, and how nationalist development navigates the intricate cultural landscape in Indonesia as well as exploring the possibility of the idea of ecological modernization being an alternative to the obsolete New Order development model.

Dialogic landscapes: Toward a nuanced understanding of globalization in urban Indonesian signage

AbstractThis article shows that a perspective rooted in Bakhtin's dialogism between the fixed centripetal and fluid centrifugal forces of language and culture is useful in achieving a nuanced understanding of globalization in general and semiotic landscapes in Indonesia in particular. Drawing on data from Indonesia, this article shows dialogic interconnections between fixed and fluid notions of languages and cultures through a multimodal and indexical analysis of governmental and commercial signage in the urban center of Semarang, the provincial capital of Central Java. The analysis highlights the nuanced localizing and globalizing strategies in signage and how dialogicity helps shape the semiotic landscape.

Food security prospects of rural community in the change and degraded peatland landscape of South Sumatra

There has been a dramatical change in Indonesia’s tropical peatland ecosystem in the last three decades due to various causes and climate change issues. This decreases the function of peatland ecosystem to support ecosystem balance and the rural livelihoods, including influencing the food systems. This paper highlights the prospects of food security in the changed and degraded peatland landscape in South Sumatra. A case field study was conducted in this research, followed by qualitative analysis. Peatland degradation, mainly from peatland conversion, illegal logging, and recurrent fires, lead to the decline of food availability from the peatland, such as, fish, honey bee, vegetable, and fruit. To deal with, several field actions are taken: (1) Local initiative in vegetable and fruit production on degraded peatland; (2) Government initiative in developing rice fields as part of food estate program; (3) Community, non-government organization (NGO) and government collaboration in introducing adaptive and prospective agroforestry. More prospective food security on the peatland can be achieved through the commodity diversification, improvement of the techniques, infrastructures, market access, and capacity of rural community. Harmonizing the policies between peatland management and food estate potentially can improve food security in tropical peatland landscape in Indonesia.

Ethnopedagogy in Primary Schools: Ethnographic Study in Thematic Learning at Ma'arif Setono Jenangan Ponorogo

Purpose of the study: This research aims to elucidate the implementation of ethnopedagogy in thematic learning at MI Ma'arif Setono Jenangan Ponorogo and to analyze its impact on students' learning outcomes.
 Methodology: Utilizing a qualitative research approach with an ethnographic design, this study employed interview, observation, and documentation techniques for data collection. The data were analyzed through domain analysis, taxonomic analysis, component analysis, and cultural theme analysis.
 Main Findings: The implementation of ethnopedagogy in thematic learning at MI Ma'arif Setono Jenangan involves adapting each theme and material, sourcing from books, and integrating local wisdom content into teaching and learning activities. This encompasses various aspects of local wisdom, including values, norms, beliefs, arts and culture, as well as natural products and resources. The application of ethnopedagogy has positively impacted students' thematic learning outcomes, with students from grades 1 to 6 achieving complete scores on average. Additionally, the implementation of ethnopedagogy has fostered positive changes in students' attitudes, enhancing their character development, fostering a stronger sense of nationalism, and encouraging the preservation of local culture.
 Novelty/Originality of this study: This research significantly contributes to the advancement of educational practices in Indonesia, particularly at MI Ma'arif Setono Jenangan Ponorogo. Beyond offering insights into the implementation of ethnopedagogy at this specific institution, the study provides valuable perspectives that can be applied and further developed within the broader educational landscape in Indonesia.

EFL Slow Learners’ Perception in Speaking with Authentic Multimedia Assisted Language Learning

The proliferation of assisted technology has been widely used in language learning, but this should be able to accommodate inclusive language learning which has become an important issue in today’s English language teaching and the higher education landscape in Indonesia. This study examined the perception of EFL slow learners in terms of the integration of an inclusive technology with authentic multimedia assisted language learning (AMALL). It discovered the impact of authentic multimedia assisted language learning on their speaking performance. This study also analysed the benefits of this technology perceived by the students. A mixed-method sequential exploratory was employed to examine students’ perception of EFL slow learners in speaking performance. A sample of 30 EFL learners was selected purposively to participate in this study. The study also examined the impact of this application by comparing the results of pre-test and post-test of the students’ speaking performance based on the analytic oral language-speaking rubric namely speaking, fluency, structure, and vocabulary. The findings of the study show that students perceived authentic multimedia assisted language learning provides some advantages in terms of usefulness, easiness, and effectiveness for speaking skill. There was also an improvement in speaking performance

Change Comes from Within: Shared Efforts in Developing Conservation in Indonesia

ABSTRACT The field of cultural materials conservation in Indonesia faces various challenges pertinent to developing countries. As some of Indonesia’s emerging conservators, the authors identified that the first best step towards responding to these issues is through two-way learning and collaboration. Through the generous support of the Australia Awards in Indonesia’s Alumni Grant Scheme, the Bali Art and Heritage Conservation Internship Programme (BAHCIP) was conceived in 2020 and carried out in 2021 to act as a collaborative pilot project involving both local practitioners and international experts. At its core, BAHCIP is designed to introduce the conservation profession to cultural heritage workers and volunteers, facilitate knowledge exchange between practitioners, initiate critical and thought-provoking discussions, and most importantly, encourage the interns to pursue formal conservation studies. The main participants in this small-scale programme were recent graduates and emerging conservators as mentors, two local museums in Bali as hosts, and five interns of varying backgrounds. Given Covid-19 restrictions, the programme was delivered through a hybrid setting which involved an online lecture series and a three-week in-person internship. This paper presents an overview of the programme, discusses the unique conservation landscape in Indonesia and reports on how the pilot project might offer an effective and impactful pathway to the development of conservation in the country. The result, in general, indicates that BAHCIP has improved the interns’ understanding and awareness of the importance of conservation, enriched their conservation experience, and encouraged them to pursue conservation studies.

The Mosque as a Hybrid Space: A Place for Worship and Tourism

Historical and cultural tourism have many benefits, not only for the preservation of objects but also for the tourists as connoisseurs. As the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, Indonesia has many mosques as places of worship for Muslim people. There are also many mosques that have historical and cultural values. Several mosques in Indonesia are used as religious tourism sites, but their activities are limited to pilgrimages. However, in Malaysia and Singapore, mosques are also used as part of historical and cultural tour packages for anyone, to demonstrate cultural diversity, cultural understanding, tolerance between religions, Islamic history, and the history of mosques and the surrounding Muslim community. This study aimed to examine how the two neighboring countries in Southeast Asia make mosques a hybrid space as a place of worship as well as a tourism location. This research used a case study approach, focusing on two mosques, namely the Sultan Abu Bakar Mosque in Johor, Malaysia and the Jamae Mosque in Chulia, Singapore. The results of this study can be used by planners, designers and managers to develop mosques as part of a historical and cultural tourism landscape in Indonesia.
 Keywords: cultural landscape, historical landscape, Sultan Abu Bakar Mosque Johor, Jamae Mosque (Chulia) Singapore, Southeast Asia mosque

Explaining the Low Enrollment Intention at International Universities in Indonesia: A Serial Mediation Study

This paper aims to explain the unsuccessful relationship between the awareness of prominent international education brands and enrollment intention. A serial mediation model encompassing perceived congruity and brand attitude was developed and was tested using the Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) technique involving 132 respondents. The results revealed that the brand awareness must be subsequently perceived as internally congruent with the prospective students’ self-image in terms of resource sufficiency before developing enrollment intention by forming the desired brand attitude. The originality of this study is that it could be the first to discuss the international universities landscape in Indonesia. In addition, the proposed model could be a plausible framework for explaining the intention to accept not only international education brands but also other brands of goods and services, hence benefiting both educational and consumer research. This paper includes generalizability as its limitation with suggestions to undertake the broader scope of studies. Keywords: international universities, brand awareness, perceived congruity, brand attitude, enrollment intention

Modern Smallholders: Creating Diversified Livelihoods and Landscapes in Indonesia

Encouraging smallholders to diversify their livelihoods has been a long-held policy objective of many governments to create resilient rural communities that can cope with seasonal variations in food production and price fluctuations in commercial markets. Due to the dynamic nature of smallholders’ livelihoods, the relative contribution of different sources to household income often remains unclear. Recent research in Indonesia used a household survey of a stratified sample of smallholders (n = 240) in eight villages (five districts) to obtain data of smallholders’ income and the relative importance of agroforestry. The research analysed income data from the same households (80%) collected in 2013, 2017 and 2020, providing longitudinal data of livelihoods and household income. Results revealed important information about the nature of Indonesia’s rural economy, whereby many smallholders received most of their income from off-farm sources (56% of income). While most smallholders still reported farming as their primary occupation, their families’ livelihoods are diverse and mainly supported by non-farm enterprises. Even the mix of farming enterprises is evolving, with agroforestry a prominent land-use and source of household income in Indonesia (29% of income), indicating that smallholders are intentionally diversifying their land-use and livelihoods. Our research found that conventional agricultural enterprises generated just 14% of household income, yet remains vital for household food security. The high proportion of off-farm income for smallholders has important implications for land management and rural development across Indonesia, as smallholders forgo intensification of their farming systems and instead opt for diversification—and at scale, creating resilient landscapes and livelihoods.

Reflexive policies and the complex socio-ecological systems of the upland landscapes in Indonesia

Reflexive policies and the complex socio-ecological systems of the upland landscapes in Indonesia

Understanding the Impacts of Financial Flows in the Landscape

Donors and non-governmental organizations are showing increased interest in integrated landscape initiatives (ILIs), where landscape stakeholders work together to achieve common goals related to development, climate change and conservation. In order to support the work of ILIs, we developed a novel methodology with which stakeholders—organized in multi-stakeholder partnerships—can assess how financial flows in the landscape are impacting their common goals and to identify funding gaps. Piloting the methodology in three landscapes in Indonesia, Ghana and Vietnam, we found that there were trade-offs between ensuring broad stakeholder participation in the assessments (to capture different perspectives) and the level of technical and quantifiable detail that could be acquired. The methodology effectively contributed to a common understanding among landscape-level stakeholders and triggered discussions on methods in which financial flows can be adapted to reduce their negative impacts or increase their positive impacts. It also functioned as a basis for the development of joint action plans and to initiate collaborations with the providers of financial flows that have potential to contribute to common landscape objectives. In addition to promoting common understanding and providing a basis for the development of action plans, we conclude that implementing the methodology also helped with strengthening the landscape partnerships themselves.

Novel mechanisms of scalability of financial services in an emerging market context: Insights from Indonesian Fintech Ecosystem

Global Fintech phenomenon is driven by new technological innovations that attempt to unbundle and deconstruct conventional business models in the financial services sector. Existing research on platforms focus on platform leadership, governance, generativity and modularity, as well as their impact on agility and innovation. However, there are limited empirical studies, to explore the role of platform operators in providing scalable financial service delivery to a broader population. This study aims to enhance the understanding of an emerging Fintech landscape in Indonesia which is characterized by heterogeneous, dynamic and evolving network of organizations and the innovative mechanisms by which the scalability of financial services could be enhanced. Our study suggests that the mechanisms of platformization, decentralization, localization and democratization by Fintech platform operators positively impact the scalability of financial service delivery. This study has significant implications for policy makers especially in emerging markets who are seeking to scale, facilitate and govern the Fintech revolution, and for Fintech practitioners in the design of technology-enabled delivery of financial services.

The Dominant Language Used on Landscapes in Medan-Indonesia

This study aimed to investigate the dominant language used (English or Indonesian Language) in the linguistics landscape in Indonesia. Therefore, the research method applied in this study was descriptive analysis, and the technique of collecting the data was documentation technique. The finding shows that the dominant language used at malls or shopping centres was English, while at the office building of private companies and streets, the linguistics landscapes were dominantly written in the Indonesian language. However, this research was only focused on the Indonesian and English language used in the linguistics landscape. Therefore, research is suggested to be conducted in more languages and more places for better findings and impact.

Managing and Reforesting Degraded Post-Mining Landscape in Indonesia: A Review

Tropical forests are among the most diverse ecosystems in the world, completed by huge biodiversity. An expansion in natural resource extraction through open-pit mining activities leads to increasing land and tropical forest degradation. Proper science-based practices are needed as an effort to reclaim their function. This paper summarizes the existing practice of coal mining, covering the regulatory aspects and their reclamation obligations, the practices of coal mining from various sites with different land characteristics, and the reclamation efforts of the post-mining landscapes in Indonesia. The regulations issued accommodate the difference between mining land inside the forest area and outside the forest area, especially in the aspect of the permit authority and in evaluating the success rate of reclamation. In coal-mining practices, this paper describes starting from land clearing activities and followed by storing soil layers and overburden materials. In this step, proper handling of potentially acid-forming materials is crucial to prevent acid mine drainage. At the reclamation stage, this paper sequentially presents research results and the field applications in rearranging the overburden and soil materials, controlling acid mine drainage and erosion, and managing the drainage system, settling ponds, and pit lakes. Many efforts to reclaim post-coal-mining lands and their success rate have been reported and highlighted. Several success stories describe that post-coal-mining lands can be returned to forests that provide ecosystem services and goods. A set of science-based best management practices for post-coal-mine reforestation is needed to develop to promote the success of forest reclamation and restoration in post-coal-mining lands through the planting of high-value hardwood trees, increasing trees’ survival rates and growth, and accelerating the establishment of forest habitat through the application of proper tree planting technique. The monitoring and evaluation aspect is also crucial, as corrective action may be taken considering the different success rates for different site characteristics.

The Gunung Palung Orangutan Project: Twenty-five years at the intersection of research and conservation in a critical landscape in Indonesia

The Gunung Palung Orangutan Project has conducted research on critically endangered wild Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii) since 1994 in Gunung Palung National Park, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. A major goal of our broad-ranging research on orangutan behavior and ecology is to understand how the unique rainforest environment of Southeast Asia, characterized by dramatic changes in fruit productivity due to unpredictable mast fruiting, impacts orangutan behavior, physiology, and health. Much of our research has been devoted to the development of non-invasive techniques and an integrated biology approach – using hormonal assays, fecal processing, nutritional analysis, genetics, and behavioral ecology – and has led to an increased understanding of the ecological and evolutionary pressures shaping orangutan adaptations. Our results show that the extended life history and very slow reproductive rate of orangutans are adaptations to their environment. Orangutans in the Gunung Palung landscape, as elsewhere across Borneo and Sumatra, also face a series of conservation challenges, including extensive habitat loss and the illegal pet trade. We highlight how our investigations of orangutan health status, ecosystem requirements, and the assessment of orangutan density using ground and drone nest surveys have been applied to conservation efforts. We describe our project's direct conservation interventions of public education and awareness campaigns, sustainable livelihood development, establishment of village-run customary forests, investigation of the illegal pet trade, and active engagement with Indonesian government organizations. These efforts, in concert with the development of local scientific and conservation capacity, provide a strong foundation for further conservation as orangutans face a challenging future.

Millennial Islamic Proselytizing Movement and Post-Islamism Discourse in Indonesia

The emergence of Islamic populism is in line with the rise of popular culture (pop-culture). This condition shows that the phenomenon of millennial Islamic proselytizing movement among Muslim young in Indonesia as an indicating symptom of the spread of pop-culture and Islamic populism at once. just Like pop-culture, the narrative of millennial Islamic proselytizing movement is always characterized by some identical keywords; popularity, lifestyle and fandom. Therefore, the phenomenon of millennial Islamic proselytizing movement fosters several commodities such as the fashion industries, accessories and lifestyles which are considered normatively correct. Some of these commodities appear in campaign of millennial Islamic proselytizing movement in online public sphere; social media. Islamic populism, which was close to Islamism ideology, gradually transform to be more adaptive with democratic political circumstance. Some scholars define this transformation with post-Islamism era. The aim of this article is to discuss millennial Islamic proselytizing movement and its relationship to the discourse of post-Islamism in Indonesia. According to this article theme, some research questions emerge; can the phenomenon of millennial Islamic proselytizing movement be read in the post-Islamism landscape in Indonesia? To what extent is the closeness between millennial Islamic proselytizing movement and the post of Islamism discourses? Using a sociological approach, this article takes “YukNgaji” Movement as an object of research. The research data are collected from observations, interviews with several informants and content post on social media, especially Instagram. Such data then analyzed using Social Movement and post-Islamism theory. Millennial Islamic proselytizing movement campaigns will be linked identically to the identity and the discourse of post-Islamism.

Natural Regeneration After Volcanic Eruptions: Resilience of the Non-legume Nitrogen-Fixing Tree Parasponia rigida

Volcanic eruptions disturb vegetation at a time it is needed for preventing mudflows. A resilient indigenous non-legume nitrogen-fixing tree that is adapted to the ash and spreads rapidly protects areas downstream in a volcanic landscape in Indonesia. Within the volcanic ring of fire both the long-term benefits (including densely populated, fertile agricultural soils) and short-term ecological disturbance of volcanic ash deposition are clear. Mount Kelud in East Java has erupted on a 15–37-years cycle for the past centuries, most recently in 2014, causing damage to settlements, agricultural land, agroforestry, and watershed protection forests, as the ash deposits caused tree mortality, restricted infiltration, and led to ash flows. Rapid “restoration” or recovery of tree-based vegetation with planted Legume trees (such as Calliandra spp.) has been attempted but is not very effective. However, the non-legume nitrogen-fixing Parasponia rigida, symbiotic with rhizobium bacteria, contrasted to its non-symbiotic sibling (Trema orientalis) has been studied in laboratory conditions, but not in its native environment. We mapped and sampled P. rigida in various locations (upper, middle, and lower elevation positions in ridge-slope-valley toposequences) on the Kelud complex starting 1 year after the latest eruption, estimated biomass development, and quantified P. rigida root nodules in relation to N availability in the ash/soil mixtures in these locations. P. rigida was found as a pioneer tree at elevations between 600 and 1,700 m a.s.l. (above sea level) along ridges, in slope, and valley positions. At lower elevations T. orientalis dominated. Within 3 years of the eruption, stem diameters were 3–10 cm. Up to 93% of P. rigida root nodules were found to be effective, based on the hemoglobin color on cross-sections. Rhizobium bacteria were found in root nodule tissue at densities of two to a hundred times higher than in rhizosphere soil. Between a total soil N content from 0.01 to 0.04% the density of effective nodules decreased from 1,200 to 200 m−2. P. rigida stands in the area, especially at ridges close to the crater deserve to be managed proactively as future seed sources, given the high frequency of eruption episodes, while recovery after eruptions on similar volcanoes can likely be facilitated by tactical assisted seed dispersal if effective seed collection and storage methods can be established.

Tree Roots Anchoring and Binding Soil: Reducing Landslide Risk in Indonesian Agroforestry

Tree root systems stabilize hillslopes and riverbanks, reducing landslide risk, but related data for the humid tropics are scarce. We tested fractal allometry hypotheses on differences in the vertical and horizontal distribution of roots of trees commonly found in agroforestry systems and on shear strength of soil in relation to root length density in the topsoil. Proximal roots of 685 trees (55 species; 4–20 cm stem diameter at breast height, dbh) were observed across six landscapes in Indonesia. The Index of Root Anchoring (IRA) and the Index of Root Binding (IRB) were calculated as ΣDv2/dbh2 and as ΣDh2/dbh2, respectively, where Dv and Dh are the diameters of vertical (angle > 45°) and horizontal (angle < 45°) proximal roots. High IRA values (>1.0) were observed in coffee and several common shade trees. Common fruit trees in coffee agroforestry had low medium values, indicating modest ‘soil anchoring’. Where root length density (Lrv) in the topsoil is less than 10 km m−3 shear strength largely depends on texture; for Lrv > 10 shear strength was >1.5 kg m−2 at the texture tested. In conclusion, a mix of tree species with deep roots and grasses with intense fine roots provides the highest hillslope and riverbank stability.

Community living standards and rural household decision making

Abstract Reducing deforestation and environmental degradation in the tropics while alleviating rural poverty requires effectively engaging with small-scale fishing, farming and forest-dependent households. The changing aspirations of rural households, however, have increasingly been attributed as the cause of rural households changing from ecologically sustainable to intensive and destructive livelihoods and natural resource uses. Theories of rural household decision-making, however, have historically used normative assumptions about rural households that have not addressed the interconnections between culturally and locally specific community living standards and livelihood decisions. In this article, a novel framework for assessing household goals and community living standards is presented, along with how these differentiated goals are tied to household livelihood strategies. Through case studies of fishing, farming and forest-dependent communities in a coastal landscape in Indonesia, the orientation of household livelihood strategies towards the achievement of household goals are demonstrated. The consistency and differentiation of household goals within and between communities is also discussed, demonstrating that smaller, insular communities are more likely to have homogeneous living standards than larger, more integrated communities. In addition, the mechanisms that facilitate changes in community living standards and household goals change are also discussed, which include access to consumer markets, social integration and the provision of government infrastructure and services. The results demonstrate that a comprehensive understanding of rural household goals and community living standards is a critical first step for understanding and influencing rural household livelihood strategies. Through addressing the motivations of rural households more systematically in association with their livelihood strategies, more effective, equitable and acceptable interventions for addressing environmental degradation caused by small-scale producers are possible.

Quantifying the Economic Value of Ecosystem Services in Oil Palm Dominated Landscapes in Riau Province in Sumatra, Indonesia

Ecosystem services in oil palm plantations owned by smallholders in four villages in the Riau Province, Indonesia were identified and valued. Nine provisioning, three regulating and maintenance, one cultural ecosystem service, and a single ecosystem dis-service, were identified from interviews with 62 farming households. Direct and indirect market valuation methods were used to estimate the total economic value (TEV) of these services, which averaged USD 6520 ha−1 year−1 (range = USD 2970–7729 ha−1 year−1). The values of provisioning services were USD 4331 ha−1 year−1 (range = USD 2263–5489 ha−1 year−1), regulating and maintenance services were valued at USD 1880 ha−1 year−1 (range of USD 707–3110 ha−1 year−1), and cultural services were USD 309 ha−1 year−1. We conclude that identifying and valuing ecosystem services offers an opportunity to improve the environmental and economic sustainability of smallholders in oil palm landscapes in Indonesia.