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This paper adds to a growing literature that charts and explains inequality levels in pre-industrial societies. On the basis of a wide variety of primary documents, the degree of inequality is estimated for 32 different residencies, the largest administrative units and comparable to present-day provinces, of late colonial Indonesia. Four different measures of inequality (the Gini, Theil, Inequality Extraction Rate and Top Income Rate) are employed that show consistent results. Variation in inequality levels across late colonial Indonesia is very large, and some residencies have much higher levels of inequality (with, for example, Ginis above 60) than others (with Ginis below 30). This suggests that even within a single colony, levels of inequality may vary substantially and this puts some doubts on the representativeness of using a single number to capture the level of inequality in a large economy. In order to explain the variation across residencies and over time, this paper investigates the role of exports and plantations, so frequently mentioned in the literature. It is shown that both explain a part of the variation in levels of inequality across colonial Indonesia, but that only the rise of plantations can explain changes in inequality levels over time. This points to the importance of the institutional context in which global export trade takes place for the rise of inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Even though the taxonomy of bat-infesting chiggers has been studied extensively, information about the distribution and morphological variability of many species is still lacking. In fact, the only available distribution records for several species are their type localities. The purpose of this paper is to broaden the knowledge of the Indonesian group. Methods: Hosts and chiggers were captured from April 2018 to March 2020 in Bali and Nusa Penida Islands in Indonesia by using standard bat-capturing and parasite-collecting methods. A list of bat-infesting chiggers in Indonesia was compiled by searching the public databases using specific keywords. Results: When compared with already published data on type specimens, the physical measurements and morphology of Whartonia diosi, W. maai and Grandjeana sinensis revealed only minor differences that fell within intraspecific variability of the mentioned species. Two species (W. diosi and G. sinensis) are recorded here for the first time outside of their type localities (Panay Island in the Philippines and China) and, in both cases, represent the first records for Indonesia. The checklist summarizes all 16 species in 9 genera of bat-infesting chiggers collected from 12 bat species belonging to 5 families all collected on 8 Indonesian islands. Conclusion: Indonesia comprises more than 17,000 islands, is home to over 200 bat species, and harbors hundreds of still undiscovered caves. With such a huge potential for chigger diversity and endemism, it is likely that our results document only a fraction of the actual diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses household survey data from five Southeast Asian countries (Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam) to examine changes in the distribution of per capita consumption over the period 2006–2014. We perform a decomposition analysis to study the factors that contribute to changes in per capita consumption at the mean and along the entire distribution. Our findings indicate that changes in per capita consumption over time are mainly driven by changes in household income, especially at the top of the distribution. We also find that a sizeable part of the changes in per capita consumption may be attributed to changes in the household size and educational attainment. Urbanization typically contributes to an increase in per capita consumption with exception of the Philippines, where urbanization has declined over time. The contribution of changes in demographic characteristics to changes in per capita consumption is generally positive but relatively small. Our findings highlight the importance of policies that aim to alleviate poverty by enhancing educational attainment and reducing fertility. These policies are particularly relevant in Cambodia, Indonesia and the Philippines, where national fertility rates remain high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agroforestry has potential for strengthening the climate change resilience of smallholder farmers in Southeast Asia. In Indonesia, the food security challenges faced by smallholders will likely worsen due to climate change impacts. Agroforestry provides and option for strengthening climate change resilience, while contributing to food access, income, health, and environmental stability. To evaluate the evidence for such benefits, this systematic review identifies 22 peer-reviewed articles published between 2000 and 2019 which assess agroforestry's contributions to food security in Indonesia, mostly in Java or Sumatra. Analysis of the studies indicate that traditional and commercial agroforestry contribute to food security in diverse ways: for example, traditional homegardens offer 20% more dietary diversity than commercial counterparts, while commercial homegardens may contribute up to five times more income. Agri-silviculture contributions fall along a timber versus non-timber forest product continuum that displays a similar tradeoff between diversity and income. Those systems with a commercial focus may receive 54% of their income from a single commodity crop such as coffee, while traditional systems allow greater access to plants with medicinal benefits. Nearly all agroforestry systems offered indirect benefits for food security, such as allowing more off-farm work than traditional agriculture and contributing to environmental stability: users of agroforestry were found by one study to collect 83% less fuelwood from natural forests. One study highlighted that agroforestry options have up to 98% greater net present value (for periods over 30 years) compared to slash and burn style agriculture. However, very few studies of Indonesian agroforestry focused explicitly on financial analysis and food security, indicating the need for further research. Given the similar situations faced by many Southeast Asia countries, our findings contribute to emerging trends throughout the region regarding the relationship between agroforestry and food security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Encrasicholina integra sp. nov. is described from 10 specimens collected in Manokwari, West Papua, Indonesia. The new species is most similar to Encrasicholina oligobranchus (Wongratana 1983), which is redescribed, in sharing a short upper jaw with the posterior tip just reaching to the preopercle anterior margin, the dorsal and anal fins with three unbranched rays, a bony urohyal without fleshy knobs, and similar numbers of gill rakers. However, the former is characterized by a shorter head (its length 25.9–27.2% SL vs. 28.3–29.8% in E. oligobranchus), maxilla (its length 17.1–18.3% SL vs. 19.0–20.7%), and mandible (its length 17.5–18.7% SL vs. 19.1–20.5%), in addition to a deeper body (its depth 15.1–16.4% SL vs. 13.3–15.3%) and longer pelvic fin (9.3–10.2% SL vs. 8.7–9.4%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geoengineering has generally been a research province of the Global North. Developing countries, especially climate-vulnerable regions such as Southeast Asia, have made few contributions to a critical understanding of geoengineering. To deliver more climate action, we need to amplify Global South voices in this debate. This essay summarizes the deliberations of a workshop that sought to build an inter- and multi-disciplinary knowledge community on the critical study of geoengineering in Southeast Asia. Held in Indonesia, this workshop involved discussions among 17 social science researchers, climate modelers, environmental policy analysts, and civil society actors from the region. On the basis of in-depth discussions, research themes were developed to help guide future geoengineering research in Southeast Asia. These themes included: biochar techniques for carbon capture and storage; expansive modeling of regional impacts of stratospheric aerosol injection, especially for transboundary water bodies; national and regional governance implications of carbon dioxide removal and solar radiation management; and critical social study of these technologies. The workshop participants called for support for regional research on geoengineering through new funding opportunities and increased international collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite scientific evidence on the potential impact or importance of specific interventions to improve micronutrient status of vulnerable groups, political commitment and extensive support from national stakeholders is paramount to support introduction and implementation of these interventions at national level. In order to develop efficient nutritional strategies to improve the micronutrient status of children < 5 years of age and women of reproductive age that will be supported by a wide range of stakeholders, a better understanding of viewpoints on the nutrition politics and strategies is necessary. Multi-criteria mapping (MCM) was successfully used to assess the stakeholder's viewpoint in a wide variety of contexts since the late 1990s.Objective: The objective of the present study was to assess the viewpoints of stakeholders on a wide range of potential nutritional interventions in the five Southeast Asian countries participating in the SMILING project.Method: MCM methodology was used to appraise the stakeholder's viewpoints in five countries.Results: The results show that the overall stakeholders' preference was for actions already implemented in their country rather than for new, innovative options, even for supplementation. Indirect interventions such like food fortification (except in Indonesia), delayed cord clamping or food-based approaches were generally less favored by the stakeholders. However, the majority of stakeholders agreed that new approaches should be considered and put in place in the future provided that evidence of their impact was demonstrated, that they received adequate technical support for their implementation and their monitoring, and that they will be accompanied by strong advocacy among decision-makers, civil society and beneficiaries.Conclusions for practice: To conclude, for the introduction of new, innovative strategies to reduce micronutrient deficiencies in South-East Asia, convincing stakeholders appears to be the first hurdle to be taken. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) and enhancing 'removals of greenhouse gas emissions by forests' in developing countries through positive incentives is regarded as an essential component of the post-2012 climate regime for stabilizing greenhouse gas emissions and an important way of engaging developing countries in global mitigation efforts. We aimed to evaluate the potential effectiveness of REDD+ by integrating it into a land use option framework. One of our goals was to develop scenarios for evaluating the impacts of land use changes on carbon and environmental processes. In addition, we aimed to quantify the potential economic benefits to society of compensated reductions and to identify hotspots for applying REDD+. Three land use change scenarios were examined: (I) business as usual (BAU), (II) economic development, and (III) REDD+. A case study in Indonesia was examined using these land use scenarios and policy interventions, evaluating their effects on carbon emissions, socioeconomics, and environmental features of a spatial system using land use models. Significant emissions and water erosion reductions were predicted to be achieved under the REDD+ scenario, due to reduced deforestation of <6% over the next decade; >0.14 Mt COe reduction was predicted relative to the BAU scenario. Furthermore, the spatial land use model indicated that REDD+ payments of forest carbon credits in the compliance market would play a key role in compensating rural communities and plantation companies for their opportunity cost in ending deforestation. This study provides an example of integrating land use modeling with a scenario analysis framework to evaluate plausible future forecasts and to evaluate the potential impacts of REDD+. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the second half of the 20th century, investigations of indigenous environmental knowledge have been the subject of broader anthropological debates over how knowledge and experience are formed. Many such approaches have focused on environmental nomenclature and taxonomy, or what Roy Ellen has called 'formal lexical knowledge' (). Such knowledge is readily available to an ethnographer and also more easily transmitted through language between subjects. These characteristics of formal lexical knowledge have led to considerable attention given to differences in environmental knowledge between cultures and have possibly resulted in the inflation of the efficacy of language in forming knowledge. However, if a different form of environmental knowledge is examined are there differences that emerge within communities and other processes beyond symbolic systems that shape knowledge? To address these questions, individuals in two Balinese agricultural communities were asked to construct food webs by linking photos of plant and animal species according to ecological interaction. The results showed significant variation in subjects' knowledge by gender, which corresponds to labor experience in Balinese wet rice agricultural systems. By shifting attention toward emic models of ecological interactions, this article attempts to demonstrate (1) that environmental knowledge differs within a single community; and, (2) the role of labor experience or praxis has in forming environmental knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ongoing expansion of plantation agriculture has changed the ecological, demographic, and social conditions of Southeast Asia's forested areas, yet little is known about hunting practices in these novel landscapes. Using information from 73 in-depth interviews with hunters, agricultural workers and wild meat dealers in the Jambi province of Sumatra, Indonesia, we describe contemporary hunting practices, including how hunting methods, wildlife harvest and consumption rates vary between different indigenous and immigrant ethnic groups. Hunting is now primarily a commercial endeavor for harvesting wild boar ( Sus scrofa) meat; over 7500 wild boars were sold in Jambi City alone in 2011. The Muslim majority avoids wild boar for religious reasons, but there is substantial local and export demand driven by Chinese and Christian Batak. We conclude that hunting within oil palm plantations may reduce crop damage from wild boar and also yield large amounts of wild meat with relatively little by-catch of threatened animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving access to water and sanitation does not necessarily guarantee longevity of those systems transferred. Lessons from past interventions suggest that success depends on acceptance of the technology from the recipients and sustained use after donor assistance ends. A qualitative evaluation of urban community sanitation systems in Indonesia is conducted by use of a diagnostic tool, called RECAP, focusing on technology performance and experience. By means of surveys and qualitative interviews, the perceptions of involved stakeholders (local government, implementing agency and users) are evaluated. Conclusions suggest bridging the gap between governments and users in relation to maintenance and monitoring would improve the quality and longevity of interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied species richness, composition and vertical distribution of epiphytic bryophytes in submontane rainforest of Central Sulawesi. Bryophytes were sampled on eight canopy trees and on eight trees in the forest understorey. Microclimate was measured at trunk bases and at crown bases. The total recorded number of 146 epiphytic bryophyte species is among the highest ever reported for tropical forests and underlines the importance of the Malesian region as a global biodiversity hotspot. Species composition differed significantly between understorey trees and canopy tree trunks on the one hand, and the forest canopy on the other. Fourty-five percent of the bryophyte species were restricted to canopy tree crowns, 12% to the understorey. Dendroid and fan-like species mainly occurred in the forest understorey whereas tufts were most species rich in the tree crowns. The findings reflect the different microclimatic regimes and substrates found in the understorey and in the forest canopy. The results indicate that assessments of the bryophyte diversity of tropical forests are inadequate when understorey trees and tree crowns are excluded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the role of public Islamic higher education in promoting better relations between different religious communities in post-authoritarian Indonesia. It explores how progressive Islamic education leaders have advanced a tradition of critical intellectualism in efforts toward the renewal of Islamic thought. It also offers an analysis of some of the core values expressed by educational leaders as they tried to transform the most prominent State Institutes for Islamic Studies (IAIN) into genuine universities.