The Impact of Decentralization on Forest Governance in Southeast Asia
Article Sidebar
-
Decentralization, Indonesia, Philippines
Abstract
Decentralization has emerged as a significant trend in forest governance across Southeast Asia, aiming to enhance local participation and improve resource management. While intended to empower local communities, the actual impacts of decentralization on forest governance remain poorly understood. This study investigates how decentralization affects governance structures, stakeholder engagement, and environmental outcomes in the region. The research aims to assess the effects of decentralization on forest governance by examining case studies from selected Southeast Asian countries. The study seeks to identify both positive and negative outcomes, focusing on how local governance influences forest conservation and management practices. A mixed-methods approach was utilized, combining qualitative interviews, surveys, and document analysis. Data were collected from government officials, local community members, and NGOs involved in forest management. Comparative analysis of case studies from Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines provided insights into the varying impacts of decentralization. Findings indicate that decentralization can enhance local participation and accountability in forest governance. However, challenges such as inadequate capacity, corruption, and conflicting interests often hinder effective implementation. Case studies revealed diverse outcomes, where successful decentralization led to improved resource management, while in other instances, it exacerbated existing inequalities. The research highlights the complex relationship between decentralization and forest governance in Southeast Asia. Effective decentralization requires supportive policies, capacity building, and genuine stakeholder engagement to achieve sustainable forest management. The study underscores the need for ongoing evaluation of decentralization processes to ensure they meet both conservation and community objectives effectively.
Full text article
References
Adam, J. N., Adams, T., Gerber, J.-D., & Haller, T. (2021). Decentralization for Increased Sustainability in Natural Resource Management? Two Cautionary Cases from Ghana. Sustainability, 13(12), 6885. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13126885
Adams, D. V., Long, S., & Fleury, M. E. (2022). Association of Remote Technology Use and Other Decentralization Tools With Patient Likelihood to Enroll in Cancer Clinical Trials. JAMA Network Open, 5(7), e2220053. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.20053
Arkorful, V. E., Lugu, B. K., Hammond, A., & Basiru, I. (2021). Decentralization and Citizens’ Participation in Local Governance: Does Trust and Transparency Matter? – An Empirical Study. Forum for Development Studies, 48(2), 199–223. https://doi.org/10.1080/08039410.2021.1872698
Basurto, M. P., Dupas, P., & Robinson, J. (2020). Decentralization and efficiency of subsidy targeting: Evidence from chiefs in rural Malawi. Journal of Public Economics, 185, 104047. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2019.07.006
Bodó, B., Brekke, J. K., & Hoepman, J.-H. (2021). Decentralisation: A multidisciplinary perspective. Internet Policy Review, 10(2). https://doi.org/10.14763/2021.2.1563
Brinker, L., & Satchwell, A. J. (2020). A comparative review of municipal energy business models in Germany, California, and Great Britain: Institutional context and forms of energy decentralization. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 119, 109521. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2019.109521
Capano, G., & Lippi, A. (2021). Decentralization, policy capacities, and varieties of first health response to the COVID-19 outbreak: Evidence from three regions in Italy. Journal of European Public Policy, 28(8), 1197–1218. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2021.1942156
Cavalieri, M., & Ferrante, L. (2020). Convergence, decentralization and spatial effects: An analysis of Italian regional health outcomes. Health Policy, 124(2), 164–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2019.12.001
Christl, M., Köppl?Turyna, M., & Kucsera, D. (2020). Determinants of Public?Sector Efficiency: Decentralization and Fiscal Rules. Kyklos, 73(2), 253–290. https://doi.org/10.1111/kykl.12224
Christodoulou, K., Iosif, E., Inglezakis, A., & Themistocleous, M. (2020). Consensus Crash Testing: Exploring Ripple’s Decentralization Degree in Adversarial Environments. Future Internet, 12(3), 53. https://doi.org/10.3390/fi12030053
Dick-Sagoe, C. (2020). Decentralization for improving the provision of public services in developing countries: A critical review. Cogent Economics & Finance, 8(1), 1804036. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322039.2020.1804036
Guo, S., Pei, Y., & Xie, Z. (2022). A dynamic model of fiscal decentralization and public debt accumulation. Journal of Public Economics, 212, 104692. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2022.104692
Hao, Y., Chen, Y.-F., Liao, H., & Wei, Y.-M. (2020). China’s fiscal decentralization and environmental quality: Theory and an empirical study. Environment and Development Economics, 25(2), 159–181. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355770X19000263
Helmrich, A., Markolf, S., Li, R., Carvalhaes, T., Kim, Y., Bondank, E., Natarajan, M., Ahmad, N., & Chester, M. (2021). Centralization and decentralization for resilient infrastructure and complexity. Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability, 1(2), 021001. https://doi.org/10.1088/2634-4505/ac0a4f
Jia, J., Ding, S., & Liu, Y. (2020). Decentralization, incentives, and local tax enforcement. Journal of Urban Economics, 115, 103225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jue.2019.103225
Jones, P. J. S., & Long, S. D. (2021). Analysis and discussion of 28 recent marine protected area governance (MPAG) case studies: Challenges of decentralisation in the shadow of hierarchy. Marine Policy, 127, 104362. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2020.104362
Kuhn, K., & Morlino, I. (2022). Decentralisation in Times of Crisis: Asset Or Liability? The Case of Germany and Italy During Covid?19. Swiss Political Science Review, 28(1), 105–115. https://doi.org/10.1111/spsr.12482
Lingyan, M., Zhao, Z., Malik, H. A., Razzaq, A., An, H., & Hassan, M. (2022). Asymmetric impact of fiscal decentralization and environmental innovation on carbon emissions: Evidence from highly decentralized countries. Energy & Environment, 33(4), 752–782. https://doi.org/10.1177/0958305X211018453
Lubell, M., & Robbins, M. (2022). Adapting to Sea?Level Rise: Centralization or Decentralization in Polycentric Governance Systems? Policy Studies Journal, 50(1), 143–175. https://doi.org/10.1111/psj.12430
Mikroyannidis, A., Third, A., & Domingue, J. (2020). A Case Study on the Decentralisation of Lifelong Learning Using Blockchain Technology. Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 2020(1), 23. https://doi.org/10.5334/jime.591
Pu, X., Zeng, M., & Zhang, W. (2023). Corporate sustainable development driven by high-quality innovation: Does fiscal decentralization really matter? Economic Analysis and Policy, 78, 273–289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eap.2023.03.008
Real Guimarães, H., Marcon Bressanin, J., Lopes Motta, I., Ferreira Chagas, M., Colling Klein, B., Bonomi, A., Maciel Filho, R., & Djun Barbosa Watanabe, M. (2023). Decentralization of sustainable aviation fuel production in Brazil through Biomass-to-Liquids routes: A techno-economic and environmental evaluation. Energy Conversion and Management, 276, 116547. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2022.116547
Ren, S., Du, M., Bu, W., & Lin, T. (2023). Assessing the impact of economic growth target constraints on environmental pollution: Does environmental decentralization matter? Journal of Environmental Management, 336, 117618. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117618
Saha, R., Kumar, G., Devgun, T., Buchanan, W., Thomas, R., Alazab, M., Kim, T.-H., & Rodrigues, J. (2021). A Blockchain Framework in Post-Quantum Decentralization. IEEE Transactions on Services Computing, 1–1. https://doi.org/10.1109/TSC.2021.3116896
Shao, S., Wang, Y., Yan, W., Yang, L., & Yin, J. (2020). Administrative decentralization and credit resource reallocation: Evidence from China’s “Enlarging Authority and Strengthening Counties” reform. Cities, 97, 102530. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2019.102530
Sockin, M., & Xiong, W. (2023). Decentralization through Tokenization. The Journal of Finance, 78(1), 247–299. https://doi.org/10.1111/jofi.13192
Sun, T. (2020). A longitudinal study of changes in intra-metropolitan employment concentration in Beijing: Decentralisation, reconcentration and polycentrification. Urban Studies, 57(4), 748–765. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098019861382
Sun, Y., & Razzaq, A. (2022). Composite fiscal decentralisation and green innovation: Imperative strategy for institutional reforms and sustainable development in OECD countries. Sustainable Development, 30(5), 944–957. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2292
Tang, P., Feng, Y., Li, M., & Zhang, Y. (2021). Can the performance evaluation change from central government suppress illegal land use in local governments? A new interpretation of Chinese decentralisation. Land Use Policy, 108, 105578. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2021.105578
Tsuchiya, K., Iha, K., Murthy, A., Lin, D., Altiok, S., Rupprecht, C. D. D., Kiyono, H., & McGreevy, S. R. (2021). Decentralization & local food: Japan’s regional Ecological Footprints indicate localized sustainability strategies. Journal of Cleaner Production, 292, 126043. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.126043
Udeagha, M. C., & Muchapondwa, E. (2023). Achieving regional sustainability and carbon neutrality target in Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa economies: Understanding the importance of fiscal decentralization, export diversification and environmental innovation. Sustainable Development, 31(4), 2620–2635. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2535
Wang, Q.-S., Su, C.-W., Hua, Y.-F., & Umar, M. (2021). Can fiscal decentralisation regulate the impact of industrial structure on energy efficiency? Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, 34(1), 1727–1751. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2020.1845969
Wu, Y., Wu, Y., Guerrero, J. M., & Vasquez, J. C. (2021). Digitalization and decentralization driving transactive energy Internet: Key technologies and infrastructures. International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems, 126, 106593. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijepes.2020.106593
Xia, J., Li, R. Y. M., Zhan, X., Song, L., & Bai, W. (2022). A study on the impact of fiscal decentralization on carbon emissions with U-shape and regulatory effect. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 10, 964327. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2022.964327
Xia, S., You, D., Tang, Z., & Yang, B. (2021). Analysis of the Spatial Effect of Fiscal Decentralization and Environmental Decentralization on Carbon Emissions under the Pressure of Officials’ Promotion. Energies, 14(7), 1878. https://doi.org/10.3390/en14071878
Xue, L., Mithas, S., & Ray, G. (2021). Commitment to IT Investment Plans: The Interplay of Real Earnings, Management, IT Decentralization, and Corporate Governance. MIS Quarterly, 45(1), 193–224. https://doi.org/10.25300/MISQ/2021/14970
Yang, X., Yan, J., Tian, K., Yu, Z., Yu Li, R., & Xia, S. (2021). Centralization or decentralization? The impact of different distributions of authority on China’s environmental regulation. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 173, 121172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2021.121172
Authors
Copyright (c) 2024 Livia Alves, Clara Mendes, Thiago Rocha
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
