Christoph Dittrich

Water scarcity and oil palm expansion: social views and environmental processes

Conversions of natural ecosystems, e.g., from rain forests to managed plantations, result in significant changes in the hydrological cycle including periodic water scarcity. In Indonesia, large areas of forest were lost and extensive oil palm plantations were established over the last decades. We conducted a combined social and environmental study in a region of recent land-use change, the Jambi Province on Sumatra. The objective was to derive complementary lines of arguments to provide balanced insights into environmental perceptions and eco-hydrological processes accompanying land-use change. Interviews with villagers highlighted concerns regarding decreasing water levels in wells during dry periods and increasing fluctuations in stream flow between rainy and dry periods. Periodic water scarcity was found to severely impact livelihoods, which increased social polarization. Sap flux measurements on forest trees and oil palms indicate that oil palm plantations use as much water as forests for transpiration. Eddy covariance analyses of evapotranspiration over oil palm point to substantial additional sources of evaporation in oil palm plantations such as the soil and epiphytes. Stream base flow from a catchment dominated by oil palms was lower than from a catchment dominated by rubber plantations; both showed high peaks after rainfall. An estimate of erosion indicated approximately 30 cm of topsoil loss after forest conversion to both oil palm and rubber plantations. Analyses of climatic variables over the last 20 years and of a standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index for the last century suggested that droughts are recurrent in the area, but have not increased in frequency or intensity. Consequently, we assume that conversions of rain forest ecosystems to oil palm plantations lead to a redistribution of precipitated water by runoff, which leads to the reported periodic water scarcity. Our combined social and environmental approach points to significant and thus far neglected eco-hydrological consequences of oil palm expansion.

Contested Land: An Analysis of Multi-Layered Conflicts in Jambi Province, Sumatra, Indonesia

In the lowland areas of Sumatra, conflicts over land and natural resources are increasing as fundamental land use transformation processes take place and the region is gradually integrated into globalized markets. Set against the background of the conflict arena of Bungku village, Jambi province, this paper describes and analyzes the struggle for land between a group of indigenous people, the Batin Sembilan, and an oil palm company, PT Asiatic Persada. By highlighting the path dependency of land conflicts, the article shows that access to land results from concurring but ambivalent institutional regimes and power asymmetries, leading to an ostensible state of equilibrium in a post-frontier area.

Rescaling of Access and Property Relations in a Frontier Landscape: Insights from Jambi, Indonesia

The recent expansion of protected areas and oil palm plantations in Jambi (Sumatra), Indonesia, has been notably disruptive. This article investigates the scalar dimensions of land conflicts within a privately managed conservation area. We built on qualitative research focusing on struggles related to the formation of two informal settlements within the conservation area. Results indicate that, especially in the context of rapid rescaling (e.g., decentralization), new power constellations emerge, thereby altering preexisting property relations. We argue that competing scales of meaning and regulation are structuring the ability of actors to access land and, consequently, reflect tensions between structure and agency.

Street Food, Food Safety and Sustainability in an Emerging Mega City: Insights from an Empirical Study in Hyderabad, India

Street food vending is an integral part of the food provision system and food culture of urban India. The street food sector (food items that are directly prepared and consumed on the street) show great potential for fostering sustainable development, not only in the ecological but also in the economic and social dimensions. This highly decentralized food distribution system provides affordable, nutritious and culturally accepted food items tailored especially to the needs of poorer urban dwellers. It operates on the basis of resource efficiency, low waste output and low greenhouse gas emissions. Street food also provides a flexible yet profitable source of income, especially for those who do not fit into the formal economy. To unleash its potential for sustainable development and integrate the street food sector in city modernization programmes, several challenges concerning modes of street food governance and food safety must be met. The new Street Vendors Act is the first promising step towards decriminalizing and legalizing the businesses and livelihoods of tens of thousands of petty trade vendors. Despite the new regulatory framework, the street vending sector remains largely marginalized. This chapter starts by presenting major changes in the food system of the emerging Indian mega city of Hyderabad, then provides the findings and experiences of an applied Indo-German research project on street food vending, emphasizing contested street food governance and capacity building measures related to street food safety and sustainable livelihoods.

E-Governance Initiatives in India: Case Studies from Hyderabad and Bangalore

In India, efforts to achieve smaller government through efficiency, re-engineering service systems, government transparency and an emphasis on citizen services and satisfaction have received particular attention by the wider public. The recent implementation of various e-government projects can be considered part of this wider developmental goal. This chapter focuses primarily on recent challenges in governing India’s emerging megacities and is followed by an overview of e-governance initiatives nationwide. The third part examines the perspectives, successes and shortfalls of different e-governance projects in the emerging megacities of Hyderabad and Bangalore.