Perceptions of fishing, fire, and changes in livelihoods in Indonesia 2019

Data collection consists of transcripts of interviews conducted in two villages in Indonesia, Kereng Bangkirai and Taruna Jaya, in May 2019. In each village 10 participants were interviewed, half of these women and half men. Interview topics covered perceptions and challenges of fishing, perceptions of peatland damming projects, perceptions of changes in livelihoods (e.g. tourism and swift houses), and experiences of fire. This fellowship focuses on sustainable livelihoods in Indonesian tropical peatlands to support poverty alleviation, increased food security and biocultural conservation. The proposed research for this fellowship targets two of the ESRC's research priorities in particular: Productivity and Climate Change. Tropical peatlands are one of the Earth's most spatially efficient terrestrial carbon sinks and Indonesia is home to the greatest extent of these habitats worldwide. However, peatlands in Indonesia are facing numerous threats from human pressures, including drainage, burning and conversion to agriculture and plantations (e.g. palm oil and paper pulp). Exploitation of peatlands is driven by the short term economic needs of smallholder communities as well as larger industries, but this contributes to serious carbon emissions and climate change. Communities located in peatlands suffer from high levels of poverty linked to resource degradation, low agricultural productivity and marginalisation. Climate change will further impact the resilience of these communities. Fishing is one of the main sources of livelihood and protein in Central Kalimantan, and often supports some of the poorest members of society. Nevertheless, fish and fishing livelihoods in Borneo have received little research attention in the past which is why I decided to focus on these aspects for my PhD and continue to do so for this fellowship. It is vital to improve our understanding of the linkages between livelihoods, peatland and forest degradation, community resilience, poverty alleviation and sustainable management of peatlands. The research priorities of Productivity and Climate Change are closely linked in tropical peatland landscapes, and the research that I propose for this fellowship will further elucidate this linkages. My research takes an ambitious interdisciplinary approach to understanding complex socio-ecological systems to support more holistic approaches to conservation. It also has research impact at its heart. For this fellowship, this will include amongst other activities writing and publishing journal articles, attending and presenting at meetings and conferences, and for non-academic audiences; writing articles, blog posts and giving presentations about the importance of tropical peatlands.