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Globally, nearly 1.3 billion people have no access to electricity, and 3.0 billion people rely on 'dirty' fuel such as firewood and biomass for cooking and heating. In Indonesia, firewood is still the fuel of choice when cooking due to its low cost and abundant availability in rural areas. However, the adverse consequences of the indoor air pollution produced through cooking are neglected. Furthermore, the use of firewood for household energy is also associated with slash and burn practices, which drive deforestation and environmental degradation. The use of clean energy, therefore, is imperative for improving people's health and minimizing their environmental footprint. Having this insight, this study aims to examine the factors associated with households' choice of energy for cooking. Using Indonesia Family Life Survey-East, which specifically collected information from households in the eastern part of Indonesia, the study demonstrates that reliance on clean energy is highest among affluent households and households with better socio-economic indicators (including higher education, non-farm livelihoods, smaller sizes, and electricity connectivity). Households located in urban areas and households located closer to markets tend to rely more on gas for cooking energy. In contrast, poorer rural households residing in villages with abundant natural resources (i.e., with a high share of forests and farmland) generally use firewood as their main source of energy when cooking. The findings of this research also show that energy prices are important in explaining the use of clean or dirty fuel for cooking. It is suggested that efforts to enhance household clean energy use are driven by improved household economic status (especially income and education), access to markets, and stable energy prices. Policy interventions that account for energy and environment issues need to be designed to reduce the overuse of firewood for cooking energy in households living next to common property resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The island of Sulawesi, Indonesia, is located in a complex and tectonically active region, and has experienced tsunamis in the past. One of the major earthquake and tsunami events was the 23 February 1969 event that struck the Majene region in western Sulawesi Island. Interpretation of the historical accounts revealed that the Mw 7.0 earthquake generated strong intensity up to VIII on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale. The earthquake was followed by an unusually high tsunami of 4 m that rapidly decayed within 25 km from the highest observation site. Hypocentre and earthquake mechanism analyses confirmed that it was an inland earthquake with a thrust mechanism. Ground motion modelling is able to reproduce the earthquake intensity but earthquake scenarios are unable to reconstruct the tsunami observations. A plausible solution to explain the tsunami report is from a combined scenario of an earthquake and a submarine mass failure of 0.5 km 3 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eastern Indonesia is one of the world's most complex regions in terms of tsunami hazards, as it accommodates numerous seismic and non-seismic tsunami sources with a history of deadly tsunamis. This study is an effort to enhance tsunami hazard knowledge in eastern Indonesia where limited data and analyses exist. We provide a brief understanding of eastern Indonesia's tsunami hazards by modelling selected deterministic tsunami scenarios from tectonic, submarine mass failure (SMF), and volcanic sources. To our knowledge, this is the first time that tsunami hazards modelling from such diverse sources in Indonesia has been performed. Our methodology is a deterministic tsunami hazard analysis considering credible tsunami sources from historical and contemporary data, modelling them using state-of-the-art simulation tools. We modelled two Mw7.8 tsunamigenic earthquake scenarios on the Flores back-arc thrust, one rupturing the basal fault (FBT-BF) and the other rupturing the splay fault (FBT-SF), showing that the two scenarios produce maximum tsunami amplitudes of ∼ 5.3 m and ∼ 4.2 m, respectively, which are comparable to the deadly 1992 Flores tsunami. We modelled potential SMF-generated tsunamis in the Makassar Strait with SMF volumes of 5 km 3 and 225 km 3 which yielded maximum tsunami heights of ∼ 1.1 m and ∼ 4.3 m along the eastern coast of Kalimantan Island and ∼ 2.9 m and ∼ 11.1 m along the west shore of Sulawesi Island, respectively. The 1871 Ruang volcanic tsunami is studied through existing historical documents and a source model is proposed comprising a flank collapse with volume of 0.10 km 3 . Such a source model successfully reproduced the 25 m runup reported in a historical account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present an analysis of the oldest detailed account of tsunami run-up in Indonesia, that of the 1674 Ambon tsunami (Rumphius in Waerachtigh Verhael van de Schuckelijcke Aerdbebinge, BATAVIA, Dutch East Indies, 1675). At 100 m this is the largest run-up height ever documented in Indonesia, and with over 2300 fatalities even in 1674, it ranks as one of Indonesia's most deadly tsunami disasters. We consider the plausible sources of earthquakes near Ambon that could generate a large, destructive tsunami, including the Seram Megathrust, the South Seram Thrust, and faults local to Ambon. We conclude that the only explanation for the extreme run-up observed on the north coast of Amon is a tsunami generated by an earthquake-triggered coastal landslide. We use a two-layer tsunami model to show that a submarine landslide, with an approximate volume of 1 km3, offshore the area on Ambon's northern coast, between Seith and Hila, where dramatic changes in coastal landscape were observed can explain the observed tsunami run-up along the coast. Thus, the 1674 Ambon tsunami adds weight to the evidence from recent tsunamis, including the 1992 Flores, 2018 Palu and Sunda Strait tsunamis, that landslides are an important source of tsunami hazard in Indonesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1852, a 5-min long earthquake struck the Banda Arc region of Indonesia that was felt over most of Indonesia. It caused uplift of new islands and sent a tsunami across the Banda Sea that reached a height of 8 m at Banda Neira and was also registered at Ambon, Saparua and other islands. Records of the 1852 earthquake at multiple locations provide the constraints needed to reconstruct the disastrous event through numerical modeling using Clawpack. Tsunami heights at various locations are the primary observations we use to test modeling results. The best fit models indicate that the earthquake was most likely a megathrust event along the Tanimbar Trough of >Mw 8.4. At least 10-15 m of elastic strain has accumulated along the Tanimbar Through since the 1852 event, which is enough to cause an earthquake of similar size to the one in 1852. However, 10 times more people in the region are exposed to tsunami hazards than in the past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article critically examines engagements of village leaders in an NGO-facilitated participatory conservation program in eastern Indonesia. It explores how the program's implementation strengthened leadership legitimacy of a dominant customary social group. Customary leaders ensured distribution according to particular norms, and in organizing village governance upheld specific interests and claims over natural resources. Villagers outside of the customary group remained marginalized in village governance, despite being important stakeholders. Findings reveal complex relationships between leaders and villagers that were strongly framed by orders of power and cultural history, which influenced how and to what extent peripheral groups participated. The case study concludes that village leaders can form effective avenues to deliver on conservation outcomes. However, in their preoccupation with maintaining leadership legitimacy, they may inadequately address dynamic intra-community tensions that could jeopardize long-term outcomes. Co-management partners can play significant roles in adapting management and prompting more inclusive governance processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent botanical exploration in eastern Malesia has resulted in the discovery of three spectacular palm taxa that have proved difficult to assign to genus. New evidence from molecular phylogenetic research indicates that these taxa should now be recognised as three monotypic genera. Here, we describe these genera as new to science, all of which are members of subtribe Ptychospermatinae (Areceae: Arecoideae). Jailoloa Heatubun & W. J. Baker is restricted to ultramafic vegetation in a single site in Halmahera and is Critically Endangered due to nickel mining. Manjekia W. J. Baker & Heatubun is scattered throughout the limestone vegetation of Biak Island, east of the Bird's Head Peninsula of New Guinea, and is Endangered, although parts of its distribution fall within a protected area. Wallaceodoxa Heatubun & W. J. Baker, named to mark the centenary of Alfred Russel Wallace's death, is found on Gag and Waigeo, two of the Raja Ampat Islands west of the Bird's Head Peninsula, where it is Critically Endangered due to its small and rapidly reducing population. Full morphological descriptions are provided with detailed comparisons with related genera, alongside a revised key to the genera of Ptychospermatinae. These new genera are unexpected additions to the palm flora of Malesia, and demand urgent conservation attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impacts of the Indonesian government subsidized rice program, RASKIN, were assessed in two rural villages in West Timor, eastern Indonesia, where traditionally the staple food is maize. The RASKIN program aims to make subsidized rice available to poor households, the allocation estimated to be a third of household requirements. All of the households interviewed bought subsidized rice when it was first available in this area in 2005, however about 30 % of households did not buy subsidized rice again, mainly because of a preference for maize over rice. Of the households that continued to buy subsidized rice, about half did not have enough cash to buy subsidized rice frequently, suggesting a targeting error of failure to benefit poor households. Households that bought subsidized rice consumed the rice with instant noodles and fewer nuts and beans (traditionally grown and eaten with maize), leading to a potentially lower nutrition intake. The practices of households selling their own produce, such as maize, beans and chickens, to purchase subsidized rice may constitute perverse outcomes, including future food shortages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Red snappers were examined for reproductive biology and age-0 habitat preferences. Spawning in red snappers occurred throughout the year in northern Australia and eastern Indonesia; at least 10–30% of females and 40–80% of males were in ripe or spawning condition in most months. Northern Australian populations showed a spawning peak from July to December ( L. erythropterus) and September to March ( L. malabaricus). Eastern Indonesian L. malabaricus had a less defined pattern with two peaks: January–March and October. Size at first maturity was 240 mm for males and 250–300 mm for females. L 50 estimates were similar between species in northern Australia: 270–280 mm (males) and 350–370 mm (females). Maximum batch fecundity was 676,100 oocytes for L. erythropterus and 997,000 oocytes for L. malabaricus. Higher mean abundances of age-0 L. erythropterus were found in silty and coarse sand/rubble estuarine habitats of northern Australia (456 ± 119 fish/km2) compared with sandy coastal habitats (5 ± 3 fish/km2). Most age-0 snapper caught at Sape (eastern Indonesia) were L. malabaricus (91%) with mean abundances of 312 ± 14 fish/km2. The similarities in the reproductive characteristics of red snappers suggest that successful management approaches adopted in northern Australia should be considered in eastern Indonesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Substantial attention has been given in recent years to forest and peatland degradation, transboundary haze, and biodiversity and economic impacts associated with major fire events in perhumid western Indonesia. Conversely, little information is available concerning underpinning conditions associated with burning practices and resultant fire patterns in other parts of the Indonesian archipelago, especially in markedly seasonally dry regions. As part of a broader study examining the patterning and drivers of burning in the monsoonal province of Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT), the paper explores cultural, socioeconomic, biophysical, and, in discussion, political dimensions associated with landscape-scale patterns of burning at each of two village locations on the islands of Sumba and Flores. Assembled data illustrate that: (1) study villages are reliant on a range of subsistence agricultural activities, particularly annual food crops, livestock (especially pigs), and forest products; (2) while villages encompass mostly extensive areas of grassland savanna, proportionately most income/products are derived from limited areas of arable agricultural and very diminished forested lands; (3) despite this, considerable economic potential exists for developing certain tree products especially in agro-forestry settings, and more intensive livestock management; (4) these patterns are representative generally of surrounding regional agricultural landscapes. While burning is used as an essential agricultural management tool in defined seasonal contexts in all study villages, the reality is that today much burning is unmanaged and uncontrolled, with attendant significant economic impacts. As for western Indonesia, underlying drivers of such behavior are multiple and complex, but pointedly include: rapid societal change; conflicts within and between villages, and between villages and regulatory authorities (especially the Forestry Department), over access to land and resources; and continued nonrecognition in national and provincial fire policy frameworks of the practical necessity for using fire (wisely and safely) in many agricultural contexts. It is axiomatic that, without effective fire management and a supportive policy environment, sustainable livelihoods development will continue to be elusive in fire-prone savanna landscapes of eastern Indonesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]