IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v11y2022i7p1038-d858597.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Social License to Restore—Perspectives on Community Involvement in Indonesian Peatland Restoration

Author

Listed:
  • Benjamin John Wiesner

    (School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia)

  • Paul Dargusch

    (School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia)

Abstract

The tropical peatlands of Indonesia are widely recognized as a globally significant carbon stock and an important provider of crucial ecosystem services. However, in recent years they have been increasingly degraded. The Indonesian government has attempted to involve communities in peatland restoration efforts. These attempts were made in recognition of (1) the important role livelihood activities play in land degradation processes and (2) the ‘gatekeeping’ and stewardship role local communities play in ensuring the durability and longer-term effectiveness of restoration activities. Engaging communities has proven challenging for many reasons, but particularly because of the historical distrust local communities have towards land management interventions. In this article, we borrow the concept of a social license to operate (SLO) from the business management literature to understand why and how community involvement impacts peatland restoration in Indonesia. We introduce the concept and conceptual models of a social license to restore (SLR). As a result of engaging with our perspective, readers will be able to identify how issues of government distrust, low levels of community participation, and poverty—and the counterfactual—may impact the longer-term success of restoration initiatives and how a social license to restore may expedite progress in restoration. Secondly, discussing and linking the multi-faceted issues of peatland restoration will highlight its relevance within the land, biodiversity and human well-being nexus.

Suggested Citation

  • Benjamin John Wiesner & Paul Dargusch, 2022. "The Social License to Restore—Perspectives on Community Involvement in Indonesian Peatland Restoration," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-15, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2022:i:7:p:1038-:d:858597
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/7/1038/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/7/1038/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. John Morrison, 2014. "The Social License," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-137-37072-3, October.
    2. Linke, Sebastian & Jentoft, Svein, 2014. "Exploring the phronetic dimension of stakeholders' knowledge in EU fisheries governance," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 153-161.
    3. Prno, Jason & Scott Slocombe, D., 2012. "Exploring the origins of ‘social license to operate’ in the mining sector: Perspectives from governance and sustainability theories," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 346-357.
    4. Christoph Luetge & Thomas Armbrüster & Julian Müller, 2016. "Order Ethics: Bridging the Gap Between Contractarianism and Business Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 136(4), pages 687-697, July.
    5. Bice, Sara & Brueckner, Martin & Pforr, Christof, 2017. "Putting social license to operate on the map: A social, actuarial and political risk and licensing model (SAP Model)," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 46-55.
    6. Corscadden, Kenny & Wile, Adam & Yiridoe, Emmanuel, 2012. "Social license and consultation criteria for community wind projects," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 392-397.
    7. Dohong, Alue & Aziz, Ammar Abdul & Dargusch, Paul, 2017. "A review of the drivers of tropical peatland degradation in South-East Asia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 349-360.
    8. John Morrison, 2014. "The social license," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: The Social License, chapter 0, pages 12-28, Palgrave Macmillan.
    9. Sanders, Anna J.P. & Ford, Rebecca M. & Mulyani, Lilis & Prasti H., Rut Dini & Larson, Anne M. & Jagau, Yusurum & Keenan, Rodney J., 2019. "Unrelenting games: Multiple negotiations and landscape transformations in the tropical peatlands of Central Kalimantan, Indonesia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 196-210.
    10. Luca Tacconi, 2016. "Preventing fires and haze in Southeast Asia," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 6(7), pages 640-643, July.
    11. Brockhaus, Maria & Obidzinski, Krystof & Dermawan, Ahmad & Laumonier, Yves & Luttrell, Cecilia, 2012. "An overview of forest and land allocation policies in Indonesia: Is the current framework sufficient to meet the needs of REDD+?," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(C), pages 30-37.
    12. Geert Demuijnck & Björn Fasterling, 2016. "The Social License to Operate," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 136(4), pages 675-685, July.
    13. Domènec Melé & Jaume Armengou, 2016. "Moral Legitimacy in Controversial Projects and Its Relationship with Social License to Operate: A Case Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 136(4), pages 729-742, July.
    14. Januar, Rizky & Sari, Eli Nur Nirmala & Putra, Surahman, 2021. "Dynamics of local governance: The case of peatland restoration in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    15. Schaafsma, M. & van Beukering, P.J.H. & Oskolokaite, I., 2017. "Combining focus group discussions and choice experiments for economic valuation of peatland restoration: A case study in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 27(PA), pages 150-160.
    16. Anna Katharina Provasnek & Anton Sentic & Erwin Schmid, 2017. "Integrating Eco‐Innovations and Stakeholder Engagement for Sustainable Development and a Social License to Operate," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(3), pages 173-185, May.
    17. Stefan Olander & Anne Landin, 2008. "A comparative study of factors affecting the external stakeholder management process," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(6), pages 553-561.
    18. Moffat, Kieren & Zhang, Airong, 2014. "The paths to social licence to operate: An integrative model explaining community acceptance of mining," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 61-70.
    19. Angelsen, Arild & Jagger, Pamela & Babigumira, Ronnie & Belcher, Brian & Hogarth, Nicholas J. & Bauch, Simone & Börner, Jan & Smith-Hall, Carsten & Wunder, Sven, 2014. "Environmental Income and Rural Livelihoods: A Global-Comparative Analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(S1), pages 12-28.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Christopher L. Atkinson & Haris Alibašić, 2023. "Prospects for Governance and Climate Change Resilience in Peatland Management in Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-16, January.
    2. Yohanis Ngongo & Bernard deRosari & Tony Basuki & Gerson Ndawa Njurumana & Yudistira Nugraha & Alfonsus Hasudungan Harianja & Mohammad Ardha & Kustiyo Kustiyo & Rizatus Shofiyati & Raden Bambang Herya, 2023. "Land Cover Change and Food Security in Central Sumba: Challenges and Opportunities in the Decentralization Era in Indonesia," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-23, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Brueckner, Martin & Eabrasu, Marian, 2018. "Pinning down the social license to operate (SLO): The problem of normative complexity," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 217-226.
    2. Santiago, Ana Lúcia & Demajorovic, Jacques & Rossetto, Dennys Eduardo & Luke, Hanabeth, 2021. "Understanding the fundamentals of the Social Licence to Operate: Its evolution, current state of development and future avenues for research," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    3. Geert Demuijnck & Björn Fasterling, 2016. "The Social License to Operate," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 136(4), pages 675-685, July.
    4. Cesar Saenz, 2019. "Building legitimacy and trust between a mining company and a community to earn social license to operate: A Peruvian case study," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(2), pages 296-306, March.
    5. António Mateus & Luís Martins, 2021. "Building a mineral-based value chain in Europe: the balance between social acceptance and secure supply," Mineral Economics, Springer;Raw Materials Group (RMG);Luleå University of Technology, vol. 34(2), pages 239-261, July.
    6. Boutilier, Robert G., 2020. "Narratives and networks model of the social licence," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    7. Anna Katharina Provasnek & Anton Sentic & Erwin Schmid, 2017. "Integrating Eco‐Innovations and Stakeholder Engagement for Sustainable Development and a Social License to Operate," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(3), pages 173-185, May.
    8. Leeuwerik, R.N.C. & Rozemeijer, M.J.C. & van Leeuwen, J., 2021. "Conceptualizing the interaction of context, process and status in the Social License to operate: The case of marine diamond mining in Namibia," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    9. Bice, Sara & Brueckner, Martin & Pforr, Christof, 2017. "Putting social license to operate on the map: A social, actuarial and political risk and licensing model (SAP Model)," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 46-55.
    10. Smits, Coco C.A. & van Leeuwen, Judith & van Tatenhove, Jan P.M., 2017. "Oil and gas development in Greenland: A social license to operate, trust and legitimacy in environmental governance," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 109-116.
    11. Yıldız, Taşkın Deniz & Kural, Orhan, 2020. "The effects of the mining operation activities permit process on the mining sector in Turkey," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    12. Misani, Nicola, 2020. "Sustainability and Implicit Contracts," MPRA Paper 104963, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Alberto Diantini & Salvatore Eugenio Pappalardo & Tim Edwards Powers & Daniele Codato & Giuseppe Della Fera & Marco Heredia-R & Francesco Facchinelli & Edoardo Crescini & Massimo De Marchi, 2020. "Is this a Real Choice? Critical Exploration of the Social License to Operate in the Oil Extraction Context of the Ecuadorian Amazon," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-24, October.
    14. Daniel M. Shapiro & Carlos Vecino & Jing Li, 2018. "Exploring China’s state-led FDI model: Evidence from the extractive sectors in Latin America," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 11-37, March.
    15. Stephens, Siân & Robinson, Bryan Michael Kenneth, 2021. "The social license to operate in the onshore wind energy industry: A comparative case study of Scotland and South Africa," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 148(PB).
    16. Jin, Keying & Yu, Shiwang & Xia, Bo & Ke, Yongjian & Skitmore, Martin & Liu, Yong, 2024. "Exploring the effect of procedural fairness on the social license to operate of resource development projects: A meta-analysis," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    17. Amoako, Kwame Oduro & Lord, Beverley R. & Dixon, Keith, 2021. "Narrative accounting for mining in Ghana: An old defence against a new threat?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    18. Xu, Min & Liu, Yong & Cui, Caiyun & Xia, Bo & Ke, Yongjian & Skitmore, Martin, 2023. "Social acceptance of NIMBY facilities: A comparative study between public acceptance and the social license to operate analytical frameworks," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    19. Svetlana A. Tulaeva & Maria S. Tysiachniouk & Laura A. Henry & Leah S. Horowitz, 2019. "Globalizing Extraction and Indigenous Rights in the Russian Arctic: The Enduring Role of the State in Natural Resource Governance," Resources, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-20, November.
    20. Debrah, Akua Asamoah & Mtegha, Hudson & Cawood, Frederick, 2018. "Social licence to operate and the granting of mineral rights in sub-Saharan Africa: Exploring tensions between communities, governments and multi-national mining companies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 95-103.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2022:i:7:p:1038-:d:858597. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.