Press Release: New Journal Article builds evidence for Community-Led Integrated Landscape Initiatives in Indonesia.
PONTIANAK - Planet Indonesia’s recent publication in the journal Environmental Development reveals the relationships that exist between human well-being and environmental outcomes in Indonesia and the role a Community-Led Integrated Landscape Initiative (ILI) plays in addressing positive outcomes for both.
The study, titled "Understanding the Interactions between Human Well-Being and Environmental Outcomes through a Community-Led Integrated Landscape Initiative in Indonesia" was led by a team of experts from Planet Indonesia with assistance from, BKSDA Kalimantan Barat, the Faculty of Forestry, Tanjungpura University and the University of Miami.
The team conducted a comprehensive evaluation of an ILI approach - a landscape management system that aims to combine multiple objectives across previously separated sectors - against community well-being, participation, and environmental outcomes over time in West Kalimantan, Indonesia.
The study found that the ILI approach produced positive cross-sectoral results. Community-led participation and improvements in human well-being and livelihoods are associated with reduced deforestation, reduced poaching rates, and lower levels of land clearing.
The team concluded that ILIs such as this that operate in close contact with local communities should involve local people in a grassroots approach; from the governance of their landscape to empowering them through improved resources and educational opportunities. Approaches that are community-led can play a vital role in promoting sustainable land use and improving human well-being in developing countries. The study supports the broader global call for community-based conservation models to adapt more community-led practices, where project participants are involved in program design, implementation, and evaluation in partnership with project implementers.
"This study demonstrates the powerful potential of community-led initiatives to drive positive change," said paper author Adam Miller. "By empowering communities to take charge of their own environment, we can create sustainable solutions that benefit both people and the planet."
The study has important implications for conservation and sustainable development practitioners, NGOs, and local communities, who can use these findings to inform the design and implementation of similar initiatives in other parts of the world, for positive, impactful, long-lasting preservation of the earth’s biodiversity.
The paper is available for download.
Contact:
Josephine Crouch
josephine@planetindonesia.org
Images available upon request.
About Planet Indonesia:
Planet Indonesia is an international non-profit that conserves at-risk ecosystems through village-led partnerships in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. We utilize a right-based approach to engage locally-led solutions and unlock the potential for Indigenous and rural communities to lead in governing their surrounding natural resources, restoring and retaining balance within human-nature interdependence.