A comparative anthropological study of UN-REDD

The processes involved for the acquisition of power—and how these processes work within environmental management and public affairs—are examined to understand the impact of power relations on welfare provisions and the realisation of democracy within society.

Leading researchers: Professor Signe Howell & Professor Desmond McNeill

The study of Power, Welfare and Democracy (PWD) may use an anthropological framework to understand the significance of the ecosystem as an important component of human life. Physical conditions, patterns of adaptation, social organisation and systems of human ideology have proven to be dynamic objects within the play for power. Anthropological methods enable an understanding of the processes involved for the acquisition of power and how power impacts environmental management, public affairs and welfare provisions, as well as the realisation of democracy within society. An anthropological perspective enables an investigation into the various processes and forms of PWD within a geographically and ethnically diverse nation with varying degrees of resource access and in which the majority of the country’s citizens still depend upon the primary livelihood sectors of agriculture, forestry, horticulture, animal husbandry and mining. In correlation with this, the results of a preliminary study utilising the methodology of ecological anthropology serves as a reference for an examination of the dynamics of PWD, in light of recent ecological changes. A number of studies have been undertaken to examine ecological changes and their impact on socio-economic structures, but these studies have not sufficiently revealed the relationship between ecological dynamics, political issues and democracy.

Citizens’ utilisation of natural resources has long been a topic of concern in anthropology and sub-disciplines such as cultural ecology (see Steward, 1970i; Harris, 1991ii) and ecological anthropology (Netting 1986iii; Moran 2006iv). These approaches, which will be utilized in Sub-project B, view human occupations as adaptation strategies within an ecosystem that encompasses animals, plants and humans.

Global concerns over climate change resulting from environmental degradation, deforestation and increased carbon emissions led to the introduction of the United Nations Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (UN-REDD) Programme by international agencies and governments in the Northern Hemisphere. The program provides financial incentives to communities in the Southern Hemisphere to prevent the exploitation of natural resources—in particular, local forests. The Government of Indonesia (GoI), in adherence to the REDD Programme, committed to reduce carbon emissions by up to 26% by 2020. At the same time, the Norwegian government, one of the GoI’s strategic partners on this issue, has reinforced its commitment to provide financial assistance for the gradual implementation of the REDD Programme in Indonesia.

A lack of knowledge on global warming and challenges with implementation, however, have challenged the value of this internationally designed programme in Indonesian communities. Scott (1998v) and Li (2007vi) have argued that many large-scale programmes designed to improve human lives have failed as a result of a lack of attention to needs and variations within targeted communities. The primary issue for the REDD Programme, which channels programming and funding from world economic centres to local communities in the Global South, is not just how to transfer messages and monies to people who truly deserve them. Rather, the programme must consider what happens to local residents following program implementation. Related to climate change issues is welfare improvement. Few studies have addressed the problem that increases in conflict and social cleavages often follow welfare improvements, as does as a decline in representation for less-privileged, provincial communities.

To date, the REDD Programme has yielded insufficient empirically based knowledge on several questions that, if sufficiently addressed could guide the Programme’s successful implementation:

  1. What implementation variables has the Programme failed to identify?
  2. Is the Programme’s implementation measured against the realities of diverse, targeted communities?
  3. How do power relations between government institutions and non-governmental organisations (NGO) impact mandates and monitoring on the implementation of the Programme at the local level?
  4. Do differences exist between the political economy and culture of governments versus NGOs?
  5. How do power relations and social-economic structures at the local level contribute to a production of knowledge on forests that conforms to the REDD program’s mission?
  6. How do local communities, government institutions and NGOs collaborate for the REDD Programme’s implementation?

In order to enhance the scope and depth of fieldwork studies on UN-REDD project sites in Indonesia, a collaborative relationship was established between the Department of Cultural Anthropology, UGM in Indonesia and the Department of Social Anthropology, at UiO in Norway. The relationship’s purpose is twofold:

  • To undertake collaborative student fieldwork between UiO and UGM masters students. Training is provided for Indonesian students so that they can serve as local experts and adhere to the same methodical framework as their Norwegian counterparts. An annual workshop at UGM scheduled at the conclusion of the fieldwork period each year will allow Norwegian and Indonesian students to compare notes and learn from each other.
  • Indonesian professors of anthropology are enlisted as project participants and joint supervisors. Professors will also gain experience employing the project’s specific methodological approach and participate in international workshops arranged in Norway each year. These opportunities encourage proficiency in the theories and methods of ecological anthropology and knowledge transfer to future Indonesian students within the field who will contribute their expertise towards addressing profound environmental challenges such as global warming.

 

i. Steward, J. H. (1970) [1938]. Basin-Plateau Aboriginal Sociopolitical Groups. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press.
ii. Harris, 1991 [1977]. Cannibals and Kings: The Origins of Cultures. New York: Vintage.
iii. Netting, R. M. (1986). Cultural Ecology (2nd ed.). Prospect Heights, Il: Waveland.
iv. Moran, E. F. (2006). People and Nature: An Introduction to Human Ecological Relations. Blackwell Primers in Anthropology. Oxford: Blackwell.
v. Scott, J. C. (1998). Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition have Failed. New Haven, CN: Yale University Press.
vi. Li, T. (2007). The Will to Improve: Governmentality, Development, and the Practice of Politics. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.