Search

Environmental Impacts Assessments have long provided avenues of participation to communities on questions of development occurring in their area. Despite reforms to the EIA process in Indonesia, large scale developments remain contested. EIA’s role in contested development has often been interpreted as a means to resolve conflict. As such, the literature focuses more on institutions – diagnosing flaws and recommending fixes – than they have on the groups party to the EIA. This thesis presents an alternative understanding of institutions to instead focus on how and why actors engaging with EIAs support or resist development. In doing so, I operate within the Murdoch School of Political Economy, a school in the critical political economy tradition that allows for closer examination of the dynamics of contestation because it considers the broader contexts of global capitalism. This thesis uses Gramscian conceptions of ideology and a lens of legal pluralism to best understand how social groups draw on a wide repertoire of ideologies and normative ordering systems as they contest large-scale developments in Bali. This is particularly necessary given the central role that adat and Balinese Hinduism play in the contestations examined in the case studies. Engaging with these belief frameworks on their owns terms allows for better understanding of the way actors draw on a wide array of ideological and institutional resources to contest or support development – which is integral for understanding how the law, including EIA, actually operates. This thesis uses data from fieldwork and primary sources to produce an in-depth analysis of how and why social coalitions are engaging in the EIA process. Two case studies are examined in the thesis. The first, PT Tirta Wahana Internasional’s fiercely contested plans to reclaim several hundred hectares in Benoa Bay for a tourism and real estate development, shows how contestation, when not successfully mediated, can spill beyond the boun

This thesis studies pearl-shelling activity in the Aru Islands, Southeast Moluccas (Netherlands Indies) from the 1870s to the outbreak of World War II. The Aruese have traditionally searched for pearl-shell and traded with foreigners since the 1600s. Their marine procurement activities remained largely undisturbed until the second half of the 19th century. From the 1870s, Australian pearl-shellers entered Aru waters to assess the potential of its pearl-banks, intent upon expanding their pearling activities in the archipelago. This thesis focuses on Aru which was situated at the far side of this expanding maritime frontier. Responding to Australian incursions, in the 1880s the Dutch installed their administration there, establishing their authority without consulting the Aruese. The Aruese organised resistance movements but the Dutch crushed them. The Dutch used their expanding administrative reach to regulate traditional Aruese marine rights through the pearl fishing ordinances. In creating the Ordinances, the Dutch wanted to preserve traditional pearl-shelling activities, and foster the growth of modern NI pearlshellers. The ordinance facilitated Sech Said Baadilla's activity in Aru, and later allowed the Australian pearl-sheller James Clark and his multiethnic workforce to operate from Dobo in 1905. His company, the Celebes Trading Company, operated in Aru for four decades. However, by the 1930s it was in trouble, due to repeated crises in the global pearl-shelling industry. The company's failure to modernise led to a situation from which it never recovered due to the outbreak of war. This thesis uses Dutch colonial records and oral history materials to describe and analyse the transitions and transformations of pearl-shelling in the Aru archipelago between 1870 and 1940 and it highlights the role of foreigners, especially Australians, within the context of an expanding colonial state and a maritime resource frontier.

This thesis compared the perspectives of Kinh and Ethnic minority groups in terms of the impacts of tourism, participation, collaboration, and their motivations for participating in tourism planning in Sapa, Lào Cai, Vietnam. The rationale for focusing on these groups is that Ethnic minorities account for more than 80% in Sapa, while Kinh people represent 86% of the wider population, but they are the minority in Sapa, making up 18%. Tourism development is primarily in the management of Kinh stakeholders, in Vietnam. The decision-making process is dominated by the Kinh in a top-down approach, and Ethnic minorities with little education are rarely part of the tourism planning process. This thesis employed pragmatism as a research paradigm and employed the exploratory sequential mixed method including semi-structured interviews with key tourism stakeholders and a follow-up survey with broader involvement of Kinh and Ethnic minorities. The differences between the two groups are that Kinh people perceived the effects of tourism in generic ways, whilst Ethnic minorities responded very specifically and personally. Both groups perceived that participation in tourism planning followed a top-down approach in Sapa. There are differences in perceptions of participation in tourism planning between lower level Ethnic minorities and higher level Kinh government positions. The findings showed that there is a limited collaboration among stakeholders in tourism planning. This current study confirmed that some conditions including; (1) a recognition of interdependence among stakeholders; (2) a recognition of mutual benefits derived from a collaboration process; (3) a need for a convener to facilitate collaboration in tourism planning as suggested by Jamal and Getz (1995) occur in the current Sapa tourism planning scenario. Both groups reflect similar responses when asked about the aspects facilitating or hindering their participation in tourism planning. These aspects comprised of the

This dissertation asserts historic natural hazards and the disasters they created are a potent and flexible analytical tool for studying the Philippine archipelago during the mid-colonial period (ca. 1640-1764). Historic hazards, because they occurred in the islands with sufficient regularity in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, were not just discrete, disruptive events, but processes that acted over time. These hazards, when viewed as processes, illustrate how a colonial society altered and adapted itself to cope with prolonged disruptions. When comprehended as events, though, responses to individual natural hazards identify the central connections and tensions that defined the colonial Philippines at the moment of disruption. Therefore, this dissertation employs both perspectives to study the physical, economic, and cultural impact of natural hazards in Spanish Luzon between 1645 and 1754, years defined by the most severe disasters experienced in the islands in their respective centuries. By treating each hazard that transpired in the 109-year period as separate events, the dissertation demonstrates how seismic and meteorological hazards threatened crucial assets of the Spanish Empire, including galleons, fortresses, and churches. The dissertation also identifies how individual hazards amplified the growing poverty of the Philippine colony in the seventeenth century. By treating the same destructive events as a process, the dissertation shows the evolving responses of governing institutions—colonial administrators and members of the clergy—to natural hazards over time. These institutional adaptations are reflected in the ways narratives of disaster shared amongst the colony’s literate, Spanish elite changed between 1645 and 1754 to emphasize hazards’ capacity for destruction over their supposed metaphysical causes. Lastly, through case studies on folk magic and the creolization of Catholic festivals, the dissertation explores how Spanish soldiers and the c

Despite reducing the poverty rate from 24 percent at the height of the economic crisis of 1997-8, to under 10 percent in 2018, vulnerability and food insecurity in rural Indonesia remain a challenge for government policy. For many rural households, opportunities to build economic resilience against poverty are undermined by multiple environmental and structural factors. Since 2014, the Jokowi government has increased its focus on delivering social protection programs (SPPs) to support poor households and prevent vulnerable households from slipping into poverty, build resilience to shocks and prevent food insecurity. The first section of the thesis, which forms part of an Australian Research Council project (ARC), examines causes of poverty in two upland villages on Java in the Special Regency of Yogyakarta and Central Java. It also examines the impacts of SPPs directed to poverty alleviation and the politics of social protection. The ARC project utilises a mixed methods approach including community focus group meetings, a household ranking activity, in-depth household surveys and a food security survey. The second part of this thesis applies a relational approach to examine the experiences of young people (15-30 years) in the two villages to understand how they cope with the effects of vulnerability and poverty, the potential of key SPPs to transform their lives, and the local and wider social, political and economic processes influencing their livelihood trajectories, including farming futures. The research found that multiple processes and structural inequalities undermine the potential of social assistance programs to transform young lives. However, the thesis also shows that if social assistance is combined with access to good education and family and community support, young people demonstrate greater capacity to complete high school and transition from a life of precarity to one of greater security. Key words vulnerability, food insecurity, poverty, social pro

Twenty years after the fall of Suharto in Indonesia, most political studies of Indonesia’s post-New Order democratic ‘transition’ have left the ideas, forms of organisation, strategies and impacts of lower class struggles largely unexamined. Scholarly works that address the dynamics of social and political change have largely focussed on the mixed outcomes of decentralisation and democratisation of state power for elite actors since Reformasi, providing little or no framework for conceptualising popular political action in the context of this institutional restructuring. Drawing on propositions from Marxist political economy, Gramsci’s concept of hegemony and social reproduction theory, this thesis develops analytical approaches for investigating the dynamics of rural subaltern agency in post-New Order Indonesia, focussing on how rural subaltern actors ‘do politics’. The approach applied here extends the analysis of political studies beyond the state, its institutions and hegemonic practices by focussing on the persistent, albeit often fragmented, popular struggles to secure control of resources and shift social relations of power in favour of subaltern and other non-elite classes. It considers the connections between everyday popular encroachments on hegemonic power, social movement struggles and moments of social and political crisis with the potential for transformative social and political change. Using qualitative data from extensive fieldwork in Central Java, the thesis demonstrates that legacies of subaltern struggles over power and land as a resource are reflected in villagers’ contemporary relations with state institutions and other forms of social organisation. They organise across multiple scales, and employ diverse tactics including shifting alliances with other social actors to further their interests. Their political claims are strongly informed by cultures and ideologies that have their roots in previous periods of collective action, which are reprodu

This thesis studies the encounter of the local and the foreign in Davao, a region in the southern Philippines, during the first half of the twentieth century. Davao, under American rule, was a multi-layered contact zone where local peoples met and interacted with foreigners and their market systems, and appropriated and consumed their manufactured goods and ideas. Divided into three parts, the thesis begins with how the indigenous world dealt with Spain and the United States at the turn of the century. It explores how the idea of the frontier, and its progress and development, as conceived by the Americans in their westward movement was carried over to an area of Mindanao being settled by a Filipino majority co-residing with other nationalities, including Spanish, American, British, Chinese, and Lebanese people, as well as a significant Japanese population. Abaca, the crop from which cordage fiber was produced, lured these diverse peoples to Davao. Consequently, utilizing a commodity-based approach, the second part of the thesis investigates how Davao’s mono-crop economy and frontier was developed by plantations producing this export commodity. The plantations transformed Davao from what was regarded by the colonial regime as an isolated “backwater” comprised of small coastal villages to a thriving agricultural and commercial center, supplying the United States, Britain and Japan’s demand for abaca. In the process, new production techniques and marketing methods evolved by combining traditional practices with modern technologies on a developing resource frontier. The third part examines the cosmopolitan character of Davao through material exchanges and personal encounters, providing a social and cultural dimension to history. In the same way that the multinational population of Davao appropriated imported goods through the sensory experiences of taste, sight, sound and touch, their day-to-day interactions with one another also transformed existing cultures, giving r

This thesis applies a structural feminist political economy analysis to explain the uneven outcomes from gender interventions promoting gender-equitable distribution of state resources, protection from gender-based violence, and women’s economic empowerment in post-conflict Timor-Leste. Scholars of the “local turn” in peacebuilding, which arose in response to peacebuilding’s failures in creating sustainable peace, have argued local cultures and institutions were more legitimate, authentic, and sustainable sites to build peace than international models. In contrast, I identify the emergence and continuity of an elite class coalition dominating the state, which relies upon a highly gendered allocation of resources and a concomitant shoring up of exploitative militarised and patriarchal gender relations. Hence, I argue the outcomes from gender interventions in post-conflict Timor-Leste have been shaped by the actions and interests of a dominant coalition of rural and Dili-based social forces, all members of the Liurai-Dato (King-Noble) class. I use qualitative data and extensive fieldwork to show how members of the Liurai-Dato class depend on gender and kinship for legitimacy, wealth, and continuity, which have mitigated against gender just outcomes for gender interventions. Not only did the interventions take place in this setting of elite dominance, peacebuilders made concessions to elites and violent men in order to keep the peace, a tendency amplified by local turn approaches. These approaches to security have reinforced the valorisation of armed masculinity, associated most strongly with the dominant class, which have in turn justified the unequal distribution of state petroleum resources. As well, gender relations construct social relations through kinship, accumulation through brideprice, and the political economy of domestic violence, rendering legal and political reforms ineffective. Lastly, peacebuilding programs sought to use microfinance to empower women an

The study of ocean sunfishes has for decades been practically synonymous with the study of Mola mola, recently listed as ‘vulnerable’ on a global scale by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The concerns are high levels of fisheries bycatch worldwide, however sunfish bycatch is rarely identified to species level anywhere, perhaps as a long legacy of taxonomic confusion in the sunfish taxonomy has rendered identification to species level challenging. This includes the Australian and New Zealand longline fisheries, where sunfishes are listed at “High Risk” due to data deficiency. In the popular sunfish SCUBA dive tourism off Bali, Indonesia, another type of anthropogenic pressure is manifested through diver crowding, preventing sunfish from interacting with cleaner-fish on the local reefs. The consequences are difficult to gauge due to a paucity of information on this highly seasonal phenomenon, but have motivated discussions of sunfish protection by Indonesian authorities. In this study, the species identities and zoogeographies of the little studied sunfishes in Australia and New Zealand were explored through biopsy sampling in the longline fisheries, and by reviewing museum collections across both countries. Specimen IDs were established phylogenetically and/or morphologically. Combined, the results revealed a new species of ocean sunfish, Mola tecta, which was diagnosed and described. Furthermore, the results showed that three large species of sunfish dominate the tropical, subtropical/warmtemperate and cold-temperate waters of Australia and New Zealand; Masturus lanceolatus, Mola alexandrini and Mola tecta, respectively. Mola mola appears to be rare. These results imply that the long-term fisheries observer sunfish bycatch data from both countries consists of a mix of species. Bycatch rate analyses within four fishing grounds sub-areas, each presumably dominated by one species of sunfish, did not reveal downwards trends over the 10 - 12 year perio

Targeted fisheries for shark fin are one of the main causes driving the unprecedented decline of shark populations. Despite widespread concern for sharks and calls for their conservation, a lack of data often delays regulatory action for shark fisheries. For over two decades, Indonesia has reported higher average shark landings than any other nation, but information on its shark fisheries is extremely limited. The eastern Indonesian shark fishery, here defined to extend from East Nusa Tenggara to Papua, is virtually data-less and beyond the focus of central fisheries agencies. The lack of essential information, including the location of fishing grounds, catch composition and fishing effort, as well as biological and socio-economic characteristics of harvested species and the livelihoods they support, impedes the development of effective fisheries management in this region. This thesis uses a transdisciplinary approach to address these knowledge gaps. My findings are based on extensive field studies in three remote coastal communities with fishing grounds in the Seram, Halmahera, Aru-Arafura and Timor Seas. During my stay in each community, I involved fishers in collecting and interpreting fishery data, studied local fishing practices and patron-fisher relationships, and conducted in-depth interviews with fishers, shark fin bosses and other community members. This allowed me to portray the fishery from biological, economic and sociological perspectives (Chapter 2), and to investigate the reliability and accuracy of fisher data. The description of a range extension for the vulnerable fossil shark Hemipristis elongata demonstrates that fisher’s species identifications are not only reliable, but can lead to serendipitous findings on species occurrences (Chapter 3). Expanding on the application of fisher data, I then use diverse data sources to provide the first sustainability assessment of the eastern Indonesian shark fishery (Chapter 4). The fishery targets over 40 spe

Deforestation is a serious problem in Indonesia as a result of forest concessions that were granted by the government to private companies. The forest destruction was also caused by the encroachment by villagers during the political chaos and lack of law enforcement following the collapse of the New Order regime in 1998. In Lombok, villagers entered forests around their village, logged the trees and occupied the forests to plant fruit trees. As a response to this encroachment, the Indonesian government encouraged local participation by involving communities in forest management, which eventually developed into a community forestry management scheme. However, improper management by the forest farmers has generated negative externalities, primarily a reduction in the quantity and quality of water supply produced from the forest. To address the negative externalities problem, the local government in West Lombok developed a system of Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES). Importantly, the PES program in West Lombok was integrated with the Community Forestry program, designed for forest conservation and poverty alleviation. This study investigates the impact of the integrated Community Forestry and PES programs on local forest conservation and socio-economic improvement. The study utilises “participatory econometrics” as a mixed quantitative and qualitative research method. The research included in-depth interviews, field visits, surveys, a focus group discussion and aerial photo analysis. This thesis found that the PES program in West Lombok is a hybrid system that combines Coasean and Pigouvian theory. In conjunction with the Community Forestry program, the PES program could produce a sustainable outcome in the long term. This is confirmed by empirical evidence, as integrated PES and the Community Forestry program accommodates local needs, and can be used as a tool for forest conservation and the improvement of socio-economic conditions in the long term. Keywords: Commu

Many proponents of modernisation theory assert that economic growth leads inevitably to social development. Ronald Inglehart, Pippa Norris and Christian Welzel, in their revised modernisation theory, claim that along with socio-economic development, modernisation fosters cultural change that in the long run leads to greater gender equality in all sectors including politics. However, they have identified structural, institutional and cultural barriers to the political participation of women; cultural being the strongest force that sometimes resists gender equality despite economic development. Women are now participating in all sectors of politics. However, globally they are marginal in politics as candidates, elected representatives, ministers, the prime minister, political leaders, mayors and so on, regardless of the level of socio-economic development within countries. There is no country either developed or developing that has ensured equal participation of women in politics. This comparative study aims to analyse the issue of the underrepresentation of women in the national parliament and local government in Australia and Bangladesh. The empirical analysis consists mainly of data derived from semi-structured interviews with the elected female representatives from the parliament and local government in the two countries. This thesis finds that with few exceptions, women in Australia and Bangladesh have to overcome similar hurdles to their participation in elected office. The findings highlight the tremendous lag in social change leading to gender equality. Furthermore, the similarity in issues facing women entering politics in both countries, despite tremendous cultural and socio-economic differences, indicates that the social barriers appear to relate to universal challenges to participation of women in politics, more specifically to patriarchal structures and values associated with electoral politics. However, the barriers tend to be exacerbated by lack of mode

The coastal waters of Indonesia are among the planet’s most biologically diverse. They also provide food and income for thousands of vulnerable coastal communities. These ecosystems are increasingly being degraded from overexploitation and other threats. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are essential for supporting the sustainable management of the country’s marine resources and contributing to the food security of coastal communities. However, these conservation initiatives suffer from chronically low levels of effectiveness. A robust policy framework is vital for creating effective natural resource management regimes. This study rigorously reviewed Indonesia’s MPA policy arrangements and examined whether they reflect contemporary theory and practice. It also examined how Indonesia’s MPA policies are being implemented in the field using the Eastern Indonesian case-study sites of Raja Ampat Islands MPA and Sawu Sea Marine National Park. With this information, the research identified policy needs and opportunities for improving MPA performance. A variety of methods were employed to collect data, including in-depth literature and policy reviews, semi-structured interviews and field visits. The research found that although Indonesia’s MPA policy arrangements capture many aspects of contemporary theory and practice, some significant issues exist. The move to ‘decentralisation’ and then ‘recentralisation’, overlapping legislative instruments and the multiplicity of management institutions have created a complex and sometimes confusing jurisdictional framework. To improve the country’s MPA performance and overcome the main policy weaknesses, the study recommended that attention be given to the five key policy areas of (i) clarification on jurisdictional and institutional overlap, (ii) institutionalisation of community-based and co-management arrangements, (iii) building legitimacy and support with local communities, (iv) tighter prescriptions for biophysical design, and (v)