Rubber agroforests and governance at the interface between conservation and livelihoods in Bungo district, Jambi province Indonesia

Multiple forces are at work in most landscapes. The area in Jambi province, Indonesia, that was selected as one of the benchmark sites for the global study of biodiversity in mixed landscapes is no exception. The history of land use and the key local and external stakeholders associated with change form the backdrop for the dynamics studied. Major changes in the Bungo district of Jambi province started with Dutch colonial expa nsion in 1906 and the associated introduction of Hevea brasiliensis ( para‘ rubber) linked to trade networks at the mouth of the Batanghari River, the major transport route. The 1970s started another period of rapid change with roads, commercial logging an d transmigration projects, followed by oil palm expansion. The current stakeholders, at landscape and local levels, reflect this history in their perceptions and ambitions. Formal governance processes in Indonesia as a whole have started to have a direct i nfluence on local dynamics, including management of natural resources, rule enforcement and conflict resolution. The current links between various levels of governance (from local to national) influence the ways conflicts can be resolved and solutions nego tiated. The interface between conservation and livelihoods in Bungo is still dominated by rubber agroforests that date back almost a century, but these may become an anachronism, a remnant of the past in a world where the conservation versus livelihood tra de - off lost its intermediate ( land sharing‘) solutions to multi - functionality.

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