TY - JOUR
T1 - Balancing ambitions and realities: Stakeholder perspectives on jurisdictional approach outcomes in Sabah’s Forests
AU - Ng, Julia Su Chen
AU - Chevier, Colas
AU - Carmenta, Rachel
AU - Samdin, Zaiton
AU - Azhar, Badrul
AU - Karsenty, Alain
N1 - Funding Information: This research was supported by Agropolis Fondation, Sime Darby Foundation, and Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). The funding sources had no involvement in the study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the article for publication.
PY - 2024/1
Y1 - 2024/1
N2 - The jurisdictional approach concept emerged in response to the widespread failure of sectoral forest conservation projects. Despite its increasing popularity, understanding jurisdictional approach outcomes is challenging, given that many remain in either the formation or implementation stage. Furthermore, diverse stakeholders hold different perspectives on what exactly a jurisdictional approach is intended to pursue. These different perspectives are important to unravel, as having a shared understanding of the outcomes is important to build the critical support needed for it. This study aims to add to the limited evidence with a case study in Sabah, Malaysia, which is committed to addressing a leading deforestation driver (palm oil) through sustainability certification in a jurisdiction. We used Q-methodology to explore stakeholder perceptions, revealing three distinct perspectives regarding what outcomes jurisdictional approaches should pursue. We asked about outcomes achievable within ten years (2022–2032) and considering real-world constraints. We found different perspectives regarding economic, environmental, governance, and smallholders’ welfare outcomes. However, we found consensus among stakeholders about some outcomes: (i) that achieving zero-deforestation is untenable, (ii) that issuing compensation or incentives to private land owners to not convert forests into plantations is unrealistic, (iii) that the human well-being of plantation workers could improve through better welfare, and (iv) the free, prior and informed consent given by local communities being required legally. The findings offer insights into key stakeholders’ perceptions of the deliverables of jurisdictional approaches and the difficulty of achieving its objectives under real-world constraints.
AB - The jurisdictional approach concept emerged in response to the widespread failure of sectoral forest conservation projects. Despite its increasing popularity, understanding jurisdictional approach outcomes is challenging, given that many remain in either the formation or implementation stage. Furthermore, diverse stakeholders hold different perspectives on what exactly a jurisdictional approach is intended to pursue. These different perspectives are important to unravel, as having a shared understanding of the outcomes is important to build the critical support needed for it. This study aims to add to the limited evidence with a case study in Sabah, Malaysia, which is committed to addressing a leading deforestation driver (palm oil) through sustainability certification in a jurisdiction. We used Q-methodology to explore stakeholder perceptions, revealing three distinct perspectives regarding what outcomes jurisdictional approaches should pursue. We asked about outcomes achievable within ten years (2022–2032) and considering real-world constraints. We found different perspectives regarding economic, environmental, governance, and smallholders’ welfare outcomes. However, we found consensus among stakeholders about some outcomes: (i) that achieving zero-deforestation is untenable, (ii) that issuing compensation or incentives to private land owners to not convert forests into plantations is unrealistic, (iii) that the human well-being of plantation workers could improve through better welfare, and (iv) the free, prior and informed consent given by local communities being required legally. The findings offer insights into key stakeholders’ perceptions of the deliverables of jurisdictional approaches and the difficulty of achieving its objectives under real-world constraints.
KW - Jurisdictional approach
KW - Malaysia Borneo
KW - Oil palm certification
KW - Q-methodology
KW - RSPO
KW - Sabah
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85169797857&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s00267-023-01876-z
DO - 10.1007/s00267-023-01876-z
M3 - Article
VL - 73
SP - 259
EP - 273
JO - Environmental Management
JF - Environmental Management
SN - 0364-152X
ER -