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Socio-economic and Political Drivers of Oil Palm Expansion in Indonesia: Effects on Rural Livelihoods, Carbon Emissions and REDD
Project Start Date
04/29/2011
Project End Date
04/28/2014
Regional_Initiative_Name
Solicitation

Team Members:

Person Name Person role on project Affiliation
Lisa Curran Principal Investigator Stanford University, Stanford, United States
Alexandra Ponette- González Co-Investigator University of North Texas, Denton, United States
James Holland Jones Co-Investigator Stanford University, Stanford, United States
Alice McDonald Pittman Collaborator Stanford University, Stanford, United States
Britaldo Soares-Filho Collaborator Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
David Gaveau Collaborator Stanford University, , Indonesia
Dessy Ratnasari Collaborator Living Landscapes West Kalimantan, Indonesia, , Indonesia
Dwi Astiani Collaborator Yale University, , Indonesia
Gregory Asner Collaborator Carnegie Institution, Stanford, United States
Hermann Rodrigues Collaborator University of Minas Gerais, Brazil, MG, Brazil
Abstract

Global demand for edible oils and biofuel has stimulated a rapid agribusiness expansion particularly in palm oil. Since 1990s, Indonesia's oil palm plantation area increased over 7-fold. As a result, Indonesia now dominates global palm oil export markets. Indonesian Borneo (Kalimantan) is the primary region of current and future plantation expansion. Since 1993, West Kalimantan province is undergoing an extensive forest-agricultural transition with a 40-fold increase (3.7 M ha) in plantation area. Occupying >35% of W. Kalimantan's lowlands, land conversion for plantations is the major cause of deforestation and fires generating carbon emissions. With such rapid plantation development, we urgently require studies on oil palm's effects on fire vulnerability, ecosystem services, and, in particular, rural agrarian communities. Across Borneo, diverse ethnic communities employ forest product collection, agroforestry, rain-fed swidden rice farming with cash income generating activities. Despite centuries long residency, villages do not have formal land tenure nor delineated community lands. Plantation leases (10,000-100,000 ha) are allocated without recognition of villages usufructuary rights. Officials assert plantations are established only on degraded lands, yet oil palm areas are primarily community-managed lands, logged forests and/or peat with high C stocks. Reducing Emissions from avoided Deforestation and Degradation initiatives provide Indonesia with financial resources to support REDD implementation. With REDD's promise of C investments that also will alleviate poverty and protect biodiversity, oil palm's contradictory practices require critical examination. Given local-global factors influencing Bornean plantations, we propose to examine socio-economic and political drivers affecting agribusiness practices and their impacts on rural communities, land use and ecosystems. Our overarching objective is to assess costs and benefits of plantations to diverse constituencies. We seek to: 1) discern the relative importance of drivers affecting plantations and to assess REDD's potential to alter these drivers 2) estimate historic and possible future impacts of plantations on ecosystems services - especially C dynamics - through 2020 and, 3) uncover rural agrarian household and community responses to such change and how they alter their livelihood and land use. With Indonesia's complex district-level governance yet national regulatory control, we apply nested-scale analyses in: i) two focal districts with extensive oil palm, national parks, peat forest and REDD pilot sites ii) W. Kalimantan (147,000 km2) and, iii) Borneo (780,000 km2). Long-term iterative studies within focal sites generate: 1) valuable insights into dynamic factors that alter land use with field validation and, 2) baselines of communities livelihood practices before plantation arrival. Through participatory land use mapping, repeated household interviews with local valuation of trade-offs, we assess livelihood change and project effects of land scarcity with plantation development. With multi-sensor satellite and radar imagery (e.g. Quickbird, Landsat ETM+, MODIS, PALSAR, ENVISAT) combined with diverse modeling and classification approaches (e.g. eCognition, Dynamica Ego, Agent-Based Models), we will develop and validate several local-to-regional socio-economic and ecological scenarios of land use change. A distinctive contribution - critical for REDD - is our refined land use transitions with Tier II-III above- and below ground carbon budgets (e.g. regrowth) for 8-10 land use/cover types (e.g. secondary forests by age, degradation, logging history, heath/peat swamp phasic zones). To evaluate cultural and demographic change across communities, social network analysis is used to assess non-local labor and rural-urban migration. Through such efforts, we aim to produce several useful products for diverse applications and user groups.

Project Documents
Project Research Area

Project Documents

Year Type Title
2015 Publications Carlson, K. M., L. M. Curran, A. G. Ponette-González, D. Ratnasari, Ruspita, N. Lisnawati, Y. Purwanto, K. A. Brauman, and P. A. Raymond. 2015. Consistent results in stream hydrology across multiple watersheds: A reply to Chew and Goh, J. Geophys. Res. Biogeosci., 120, DOI:10.1002/2014JG002834.
2015 Publications Forest Investment Partnership Expert Group, 2015. Report of the Expert Group to the FIP Subcommittee on the Assessment of New Expressions of Interest to the FIP Program. 50 pp. Climate Investment Funds, World Bank, Washington, D.C.
2015 Poster Presentation Interannual variability in water and biogeochemical inputs to a coastal Bornean peatland
2015 Poster Presentation Oil palm plantation land use is associated with elevated stream temperature and suspended solids concentration in Kalimantan, Indonesia
2015 Publications Forest Investment Partnership Expert Group, 2015. Report of the Expert Group to the FIP Subcommittee on the Assessment of New Concept Notes from Existing FIP Pilot Countries. 126 pp. Climate Investment Funds, World Bank, Washington, D.C.
2015 Publications Griffith, K. T., A. G. Ponette-González, L. M. Curran, and K. C. Weathers. 2015. Assessing the influence of topography and canopy structure on Douglas fir throughfall with LiDAR and empirical data in the Santa Cruz mountains, USA, Environ. Monit. Assess. DOI: 10.1007/s10661-015-4486-6.
2014 Publications Carlson, K. M., L. M. Curran, A. G. Ponette-González, D. Ratnasari, Ruspita, N. Lisnawati, Y. Purwanto, K. A. Brauman, and P. A. Raymond. 2014. Influence of watershed-climate interactions on stream temperature, sediment yield, and metabolism along a land use intensity gradient in Indonesian Borneo, J. Geophys. Res. Biogeosci., 119, doi:10.1002/
2014 Publications Ponette-González, A. G. K. A. Brauman, E. Marín-Spiotta, K. A. Farley, K. C. Weathers, K. R. Young, and L. M. Curran. 2014. Managing water services in tropical regions: From land cover proxies to hydrologic fluxes, Ambio. Published online 29 November 2014. DOI 10.1007/s13280-014-0578-8.
2014 Publications Meyfroidt, P., K. M. Carlson, M. E. Fagan, V. H. Gutiérrez-Vélez, M. N. Macedo, L. M. Curran, R. S. DeFries, G. A. Dyer, H. K. Gibbs, E. F. Lambin, D. C. Morton, and V. Robiglio. 2014. Multiple pathways of commodity crop expansion in tropical forest landscapes, Environ. Res. Lett. Published online 22 July 2014. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/9/7/074012
2013 Publications Carlson, K. M., L. M. Curran. 2013. Refined carbon accounting for oil palm agriculture: disentangling potential contributions of indirect emissions and smallholder farmers. Carbon Management 4:347-349.
2013 Publications Carlson, K. M., L. M. Curran, G. P. Asner, A. M. Pittman, S. N. Trigg, J. M. Adeney. 2013. Carbon emissions from forest conversion by Kalimantan oil palm plantations, 1990-2020. Nature Climate Change 3: 283-287. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/Nclimate1702
2013 Publications Pittman A. M., Carlson K. M., Curran L. M., Ponette-González, A. 2013. NASA Satellite Data Used to Study the Impact of Oil Palm Expansion Across Indonesian Borneo. The Earth Observer 25:12-15
2012 Publications Carlson, K.M., L.M. Curran, D. Ratnasari, A.M. Pittman, B.S. Soares-Filho, G.P. Asner, S.N. Trigg, D.A. Gaveau, D. Lawrence, and H.O. Rodrigues. 2012. Committed carbon emissions, deforestation, and community land conversion from oil palm plantation expansion in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Proc. of Nat. Acad. Sci. 109(19):7559-7564. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1200452109
2012 Publications Gaveau, D.L.A., L. M. Curran, G.D. Paoli, K.M. Carlson, P.Wells, A. Besse-Rimba, D. Ratnasari, N. Leader-Williams. 2012. Examining protected area effectiveness in Sumatra: importance of regulations governing unprotected lands. Conservation Letters. 5:142–148.
2012 Publications Wich, S., D. L. A. Gaveau,…L.M.Curran et al.2012.Understanding the impacts of land-use change policies on a threatened species: Is there a future for the Bornean orang-utan? PLoS One 7(11):e49142s.
2012 Poster Presentation Carlson, K.M., L.M. Curran, A.G. Ponette-González, J.H. Jones, and D. Ratnasari. Effects of oil palm plantations on freshwater streams in Indonesian Borneo. Poster presented at the NASA LCLUC Science Team Meeting, Rockville, MD, 2-5 April 2012
2012 Annual Progress Report Socio-economic and Political Drivers of Oil Palm Expansion in Indonesia: Effects on Rural Livelihoods, Carbon Emissions and REDD
2012 Poster Presentation Griffith, K., A.G. Ponette-González, and L.M. Curran. “Spatio-temporal variability in atmospheric wet deposition across Borneo: biomass burning, ENSO, and urbanization.” Poster presented at the Southwestern Division of the Association of American Geographers Meeting, Las Cruces, NM, 25-27 October 2012.
2012 Program Presentation Objectives of the Spring Workshop
2011 Poster Presentation Land-cover and precipitation variability effects on water and atmospheric inputs to tropical forest landscapes
2011 Publications Paoli,G.D., K.M. Carlson, A. Hooijer, S.E. Page, L.M. Curran, P.L. Wells, R. Morrison, J. Jauhiainen, A.McDonald Pittman, D. Gilbert, D. Lawrence. 2011. Policy perils of ignoring uncertainty in oil palm research. Proc. of Nat. Acad. Sci. 108: E218.
2011 Poster Presentation Effects on oil palm plantation expansion on land cover and carbon flux in West Kalimantan, Indonesia from 1989-2020
2009 Publications Carlson, K. M., and L. M. Curran. 2009. REDD pilot project scenarios: are costs and benefits altered by spatial scale? Environmental Research Letters 4:031003.
Year Type Title
2015 Publications Forest Investment Partnership Expert Group, 2015. Report of the Expert Group to the FIP Subcommittee on the Assessment of New Expressions of Interest to the FIP Program. 50 pp. Climate Investment Funds, World Bank, Washington, D.C.
2015 Poster Presentation Interannual variability in water and biogeochemical inputs to a coastal Bornean peatland
2015 Poster Presentation Oil palm plantation land use is associated with elevated stream temperature and suspended solids concentration in Kalimantan, Indonesia
2015 Publications Forest Investment Partnership Expert Group, 2015. Report of the Expert Group to the FIP Subcommittee on the Assessment of New Concept Notes from Existing FIP Pilot Countries. 126 pp. Climate Investment Funds, World Bank, Washington, D.C.
2015 Publications Griffith, K. T., A. G. Ponette-González, L. M. Curran, and K. C. Weathers. 2015. Assessing the influence of topography and canopy structure on Douglas fir throughfall with LiDAR and empirical data in the Santa Cruz mountains, USA, Environ. Monit. Assess. DOI: 10.1007/s10661-015-4486-6.
2015 Publications Carlson, K. M., L. M. Curran, A. G. Ponette-González, D. Ratnasari, Ruspita, N. Lisnawati, Y. Purwanto, K. A. Brauman, and P. A. Raymond. 2015. Consistent results in stream hydrology across multiple watersheds: A reply to Chew and Goh, J. Geophys. Res. Biogeosci., 120, DOI:10.1002/2014JG002834.
2014 Publications Carlson, K. M., L. M. Curran, A. G. Ponette-González, D. Ratnasari, Ruspita, N. Lisnawati, Y. Purwanto, K. A. Brauman, and P. A. Raymond. 2014. Influence of watershed-climate interactions on stream temperature, sediment yield, and metabolism along a land use intensity gradient in Indonesian Borneo, J. Geophys. Res. Biogeosci., 119, doi:10.1002/
2014 Publications Ponette-González, A. G. K. A. Brauman, E. Marín-Spiotta, K. A. Farley, K. C. Weathers, K. R. Young, and L. M. Curran. 2014. Managing water services in tropical regions: From land cover proxies to hydrologic fluxes, Ambio. Published online 29 November 2014. DOI 10.1007/s13280-014-0578-8.
2014 Publications Meyfroidt, P., K. M. Carlson, M. E. Fagan, V. H. Gutiérrez-Vélez, M. N. Macedo, L. M. Curran, R. S. DeFries, G. A. Dyer, H. K. Gibbs, E. F. Lambin, D. C. Morton, and V. Robiglio. 2014. Multiple pathways of commodity crop expansion in tropical forest landscapes, Environ. Res. Lett. Published online 22 July 2014. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/9/7/074012
2013 Publications Carlson, K. M., L. M. Curran. 2013. Refined carbon accounting for oil palm agriculture: disentangling potential contributions of indirect emissions and smallholder farmers. Carbon Management 4:347-349.
2013 Publications Carlson, K. M., L. M. Curran, G. P. Asner, A. M. Pittman, S. N. Trigg, J. M. Adeney. 2013. Carbon emissions from forest conversion by Kalimantan oil palm plantations, 1990-2020. Nature Climate Change 3: 283-287. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/Nclimate1702
2013 Publications Pittman A. M., Carlson K. M., Curran L. M., Ponette-González, A. 2013. NASA Satellite Data Used to Study the Impact of Oil Palm Expansion Across Indonesian Borneo. The Earth Observer 25:12-15
2012 Poster Presentation Carlson, K.M., L.M. Curran, A.G. Ponette-González, J.H. Jones, and D. Ratnasari. Effects of oil palm plantations on freshwater streams in Indonesian Borneo. Poster presented at the NASA LCLUC Science Team Meeting, Rockville, MD, 2-5 April 2012
2012 Annual Progress Report Socio-economic and Political Drivers of Oil Palm Expansion in Indonesia: Effects on Rural Livelihoods, Carbon Emissions and REDD
2012 Poster Presentation Griffith, K., A.G. Ponette-González, and L.M. Curran. “Spatio-temporal variability in atmospheric wet deposition across Borneo: biomass burning, ENSO, and urbanization.” Poster presented at the Southwestern Division of the Association of American Geographers Meeting, Las Cruces, NM, 25-27 October 2012.
2012 Program Presentation Objectives of the Spring Workshop
2012 Publications Carlson, K.M., L.M. Curran, D. Ratnasari, A.M. Pittman, B.S. Soares-Filho, G.P. Asner, S.N. Trigg, D.A. Gaveau, D. Lawrence, and H.O. Rodrigues. 2012. Committed carbon emissions, deforestation, and community land conversion from oil palm plantation expansion in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Proc. of Nat. Acad. Sci. 109(19):7559-7564. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1200452109
2012 Publications Gaveau, D.L.A., L. M. Curran, G.D. Paoli, K.M. Carlson, P.Wells, A. Besse-Rimba, D. Ratnasari, N. Leader-Williams. 2012. Examining protected area effectiveness in Sumatra: importance of regulations governing unprotected lands. Conservation Letters. 5:142–148.
2012 Publications Wich, S., D. L. A. Gaveau,…L.M.Curran et al.2012.Understanding the impacts of land-use change policies on a threatened species: Is there a future for the Bornean orang-utan? PLoS One 7(11):e49142s.
2011 Poster Presentation Effects on oil palm plantation expansion on land cover and carbon flux in West Kalimantan, Indonesia from 1989-2020
2011 Poster Presentation Land-cover and precipitation variability effects on water and atmospheric inputs to tropical forest landscapes
2011 Publications Paoli,G.D., K.M. Carlson, A. Hooijer, S.E. Page, L.M. Curran, P.L. Wells, R. Morrison, J. Jauhiainen, A.McDonald Pittman, D. Gilbert, D. Lawrence. 2011. Policy perils of ignoring uncertainty in oil palm research. Proc. of Nat. Acad. Sci. 108: E218.
2009 Publications Carlson, K. M., and L. M. Curran. 2009. REDD pilot project scenarios: are costs and benefits altered by spatial scale? Environmental Research Letters 4:031003.