Experts and resource users split over solutions to peatland fires

We provide empirical evidence that supports a commonly-held assumption: that experts’ appraisals of policy options are often very distinct from those of resource users most affected by those policy choices. We analyse perspectives about 40 policy options to address peatland fires in Indonesia, using...

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Main Authors: Phelps, J., Zabala, A., Daeli, W., Carmenta, R.
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Elsevier 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/114428
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author Phelps, J.
Zabala, A.
Daeli, W.
Carmenta, R.
author_browse Carmenta, R.
Daeli, W.
Phelps, J.
Zabala, A.
author_facet Phelps, J.
Zabala, A.
Daeli, W.
Carmenta, R.
author_sort Phelps, J.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description We provide empirical evidence that supports a commonly-held assumption: that experts’ appraisals of policy options are often very distinct from those of resource users most affected by those policy choices. We analyse perspectives about 40 policy options to address peatland fires in Indonesia, using a Q methodology approach to rank the options according to perceived effectiveness. Peatland fires in Indonesia are a long-standing and complex social-ecological challenge, where unsolved disagreements about policy options have profound implications for environmental governance, resulting in fires recurring and causing significant CO2 emissions and transboundary haze that affects the health of millions. We collected data from 219 respondents, covering twelve stakeholder categories, including small and large landholders, industrial farmers, scientists, local leaders and government officials. We identified the most representative response from each stakeholder category, and used hierarchical cluster analysis to explore the closeness/distance in perspectives among categories. The results show a particularly noticeable distinction between two broad groups, which we labelled as experts and resource users. Experts tend to prefer solutions that are centralised and largely transformative, whereas resource users favour more localised measures that are more compatible with business-as-usual. We discuss possible reasons for these differences, and their implications for environmental governance, including for how scientists engage in policy.
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spelling CGSpace1144282024-06-26T09:36:49Z Experts and resource users split over solutions to peatland fires Phelps, J. Zabala, A. Daeli, W. Carmenta, R. wildfires peatlands governance development We provide empirical evidence that supports a commonly-held assumption: that experts’ appraisals of policy options are often very distinct from those of resource users most affected by those policy choices. We analyse perspectives about 40 policy options to address peatland fires in Indonesia, using a Q methodology approach to rank the options according to perceived effectiveness. Peatland fires in Indonesia are a long-standing and complex social-ecological challenge, where unsolved disagreements about policy options have profound implications for environmental governance, resulting in fires recurring and causing significant CO2 emissions and transboundary haze that affects the health of millions. We collected data from 219 respondents, covering twelve stakeholder categories, including small and large landholders, industrial farmers, scientists, local leaders and government officials. We identified the most representative response from each stakeholder category, and used hierarchical cluster analysis to explore the closeness/distance in perspectives among categories. The results show a particularly noticeable distinction between two broad groups, which we labelled as experts and resource users. Experts tend to prefer solutions that are centralised and largely transformative, whereas resource users favour more localised measures that are more compatible with business-as-usual. We discuss possible reasons for these differences, and their implications for environmental governance, including for how scientists engage in policy. 2021-10 2021-07-28T02:40:41Z 2021-07-28T02:40:41Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/114428 en Limited Access Elsevier Phelps, J., Zabala, A., Daeli, W. and Carmenta, R., 2021. Experts and resource users split over solutions to peatland fires. World Development, 146, 105594. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2021.105594
spellingShingle wildfires
peatlands
governance
development
Phelps, J.
Zabala, A.
Daeli, W.
Carmenta, R.
Experts and resource users split over solutions to peatland fires
title Experts and resource users split over solutions to peatland fires
title_full Experts and resource users split over solutions to peatland fires
title_fullStr Experts and resource users split over solutions to peatland fires
title_full_unstemmed Experts and resource users split over solutions to peatland fires
title_short Experts and resource users split over solutions to peatland fires
title_sort experts and resource users split over solutions to peatland fires
topic wildfires
peatlands
governance
development
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/114428
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