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This paper contains transdisciplinary reflections from both scientists and local NGO (nongovernmental organisation) managers on the international small island tourism destination of Gili Trawangan, Indonesia. These viewpoints centre on the impacts of, as well as the short‐ and long‐term adaptation strategies and sustainability opportunities associated with, two disasters that occurred in rapid succession: the earthquakes that struck Lombok in 2018; and the COVID‐19 pandemic that began in 2020. A brief review of the governance challenges facing Gili Trawangan sets up the analysis of the findings and the presentation of new empirical insights into how the island's communities have dealt with two unique disaster scenarios over the past three years. The paper draws on a community resilience framework premised on social capital and collective action theories to position the island's ability to transition towards sustainable tourism in the wake of the COVID‐19 pandemic. It concludes by laying out sustainability opportunities going forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses a general description of small family farms in Indonesia. Building on a literature review, it sheds light on the significant role of small family farms in Sustainable Development Goals, family farms in Indonesia and their challenges, as well as on the impact of investments oriented to farmers for food security. The reviews indicate that enabling family farmers to fulfill their roles can affect the acceleration of progress across crucial elements of Sustainable Development Goals. Key challenges faced by the farmers include low technology implementation, limited access to finances, farm size fragmentation, infrastructure and market linkage, the climate factor, and availability and accessibility of fertilizers and seeds. In conclusion, this paper highlights the importance of investment in small family farms for improving access to financial services and public goods, strengthening market linkages, enhancing productivity through research and extension, and investing beyond the farm through a rural non-farm economy and a territorial development perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low female participation in community-based forest actions for mitigating and adapting to climate change (i.e., "forest climate actions") increases gender inequalities and could reduce intervention effectiveness. Factors preventing women's participation in forestry are well-researched, while factors motivating women's participation is comparatively lacking. We fill this gap by (i) identifying women's motivations to participate in communal action in other domains; (ii) analyzing to what extent these motivations exist in forest climate actions; (iii) suggesting how forest climate actions can better motivate women's participation. Our paper presents an original mixed methods approach using data from two studies in different domains (health vs. forestry), objectives (feasibility study vs. impact evaluation), and data collection approach (key informant interviews vs. standardized surveys). Women's motivations to participate in Posyandu (Pos Pelayanan Terpadu), a state-run infant and maternal health service system operated mostly by female collaborators (Kader), were contrasted with conditions shaping women's participation in forest climate actions. Data were collected in the same period (2013-2014) in forested rural areas of Indonesia. We find women are motivated by the following values they find lacking in forest climate actions: (1) altruistic values: improving other's well-being through Posyandu, vs. limited benefits from forest climate actions; (2) social capital: enhancing own and family's social status by participating in Posyandu, vs. limited social enhancement through forest climate action; and (3) identity enhancement: increasing own pride and competence when supporting an established organization like Posyandu, vs. no equivalent organization for women in forest climate action. What would attract women to forest climate action? We suggest (1) tangible benefits from forest climate action for women and rural communities, so that women see forests are worth fighting for; (2) respected roles for women in public spheres related to forest climate actions; and (3) self-enhancement opportunities through village-level organizations and good employment opportunities aligned with forest climate actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

Background: Due to the prevalence and associated adverse health consequences of negative body image among adolescents globally, there is a need to develop acceptable, effective, and scalable interventions. School-based body image interventions delivered by trained teachers show promise in reducing negative body image in adolescents. However, there is currently a lack of evidenced-based body image interventions for use in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This paper outlines a protocol for the development and evaluation of Dove Confident Me Indonesia: Single Session, a single-session, teacher-led body image intervention for Indonesian adolescents. Method: The effectiveness of the intervention will be evaluated using a cluster randomised controlled trial design. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the trial will be conducted online. Trained teachers or school guidance counsellors will deliver the intervention. Self-report questionnaires will be collected at three time points: baseline, postintervention, and two-month follow-up. The primary outcome is body esteem. Secondary outcomes are internalisation of appearance ideals, mood, engagement in life activities, tendency to engage in appearance comparisons, and skin shade satisfaction. A minimum of 1000 participants will provide 95% power to detect small-to-medium intervention effects. To account for attrition and potential internet issues, the sample will comprise of 2000 Indonesian adolescents in grades 7-9, attending state junior high schools in Surabaya, East Java. Quantitative and qualitative data on acceptability of the intervention will also be collected from teachers and students. Additionally, fidelity of lesson implementation will be assessed. This project received ethical approval from the Universitas Indonesia and the University of the West of England. The intervention will be disseminated in junior high schools throughout Indonesia via UNICEF's Life Skills Education (LSE) programme, which will be freely available for teachers to download. Discussion: This paper presents Dove Confident Me Indonesia: Single Session, a culturally adapted school-based intervention designed to improve Indonesian adolescents' body image. It details the plan for evaluation, highlighting the strengths and limitations of the proposed study design. It will be informative for others aiming to adapt evidence-based school curricula to promote well-being among adolescents in LMICs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modelling rainfall extremes and dry periods over the Southeast Asia (SEA) region is challenging due to the characteristics of the region, which consists of the Maritime Continent and a mountainous region; it also experiences monsoonal conditions, as it is located between the Asian summer monsoon and the Australian summer monsoon. Representing rainfall extremes is important for flood and drought assessments in the region. This paper evaluates extreme rainfall climatic indices from regional climate models from CORDEX Southeast Asia and compares them with the results of high‐resolution global climate models with a comparable spatial resolution from the HighResMIP experiment. Observations indicate a high intensity of rainfall over areas affected by tropical cyclones and long consecutive dry day periods over some areas in Indochina and the southern end of Indonesia. In the model simulations, we find that both coupled and sea surface temperature‐forced HighResMIP model experiments are more similar to the observations than CORDEX model results. However, the models produce a poorer simulation of precipitation intensity‐related indices due to model biases in the rainfall intensity. This bias is higher in CORDEX than in HighResMIP and is evident in both the low‐ and high‐resolution HighResMIP model versions. The comparable performances of HighResSST (atmosphere‐only runs) and Hist‐1950 (coupled ocean–atmosphere runs) demonstrate the accuracy of the ocean model. Comparable performances were also found for the two different resolutions of HighResMIP, suggesting that there is no improvement in the performance of the high‐resolution HighResMIP model compared to the low‐resolution HighResMIP model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indonesia has been actively seeking to improve its status and has gradually developed a trinity of national–regional–world status, consisting of independent status, regional leadership status and middle power status. In the context of China–US strategic competition, Indonesia is more sensitive to the consolidation and pursuit of its status. In response, Indonesia not only inherits the traditional diplomatic policy of "rowing between two rocks" and refuses to take sides between China and the US, but also tries to lead the ASEAN countries to develop a "third way" in the Indo-Pacific region. This paper analyzes Indonesia's perception of and response to China–US strategic competition from the perspective of status politics, arguing that status politics plays a key role as the underlying logic of Indonesia's "free and active" diplomacy — maintaining close relations with both China and the United States at the material level can enhance Indonesia's economic and military status, and maintaining autonomy at the social level can gain international recognition of its status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the political intricacies inherent in the management of Southeast Asia's transboundary haze pollution. It argues for a scalar perspective in understanding the complexities of the haze problem. The so‐called 'inconvenient truth' is unravelled by teasing out some issues in the national and regional political ecologies, and the challenges of synchronising co‐operation at the national, regional and global scales. Discussion shows that the 'environment' takes on different meanings at each scale, and both Indonesia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) need to recognise this in order to engage more effectively with the transboundary environmental issue. Specifically, inadequate management of forest resources in Indonesia, ASEAN's principle of 'non‐interference' and a lack of a holistic ecosystem perspective are amongst some of the interconnected issues addressed. The paper calls for a greater awareness of structural weaknesses in the management of forest resources and a change in ASEAN's environmental paradigm to a more holistic ecosystem perspective that prioritises not just environmental and human health, but also a healthy and sustainable ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In March 2015, Associated Press released a story which investigated the link between human trafficking and the global fishing industry. The story immediately gained traction in the local media, and, soon after, the attention of Indonesian government as well as the global community. Afterward, the story sparked local investigations into illegal fishing, slavery, and human rights abuses on fishing boats. This opened the flood gates to many other accounts of human rights abuses across Southeast Asia by large fishing businesses. In response, this paper explores how large fishing companies commit international related crimes, such as, illegal fishing and human rights abuses using relative applicable international, regional, and Indonesian law. More specifically, this paper meticulously focuses on two vitally important interrelated problems in Southeast Asia, with a particular emphasis on Indonesia's fishing industry. These larger problems reveal a set of acute problems that are categorized as illegal, unreported and unregulated Fishing ("IUU") and the prevalence of human trafficking within that industry. In so doing, this paper will explore the empirical challenges Indonesia faced due to these problems. Following Indonesia's empirical challenges, an analytical discussion explores the various causes to these problems, as well as a presenting a recommendation section. In addition, a discussion on The Ministerial Regulation of Fisheries Management System and Certification standards, which includes an action plan initiative in combating human trafficking in the fishing industry, providing a viable solution to the enforcement problem is also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anti-corruption efforts are inherently political. Corruption charges can be levied against political opponents as an instrument of repression; they can also be used against troublesome allies in the same party coalition to further consolidate power. In this paper, we focus on Indonesia and ask: Do major corruption charges follow a presidential electoral cycle—and if so, how? We contend charges against prominent members of the government coalition are more likely to happen before an election, allowing the government to replace intra-party rivals with loyal allies. Conversely, charges against prominent opposition members are more likely to happen after an election when fears of retaliation are low, opportunities for credit-claiming are high, and there is an incentive to remove veto players who may inhibit implementing the government's agenda. To test this argument, we use an original, newly assembled dataset of all major corruption charges—i.e., those involving high-profile politicians and garnering international attention—in Indonesia from 1998–2015 as reported in the Associated Press. We find a significant and robust relationship between the electoral calendar and major corruption charges. This relationship is robust across presidential administrations. These results yield insights into how anti-corruption efforts can become a political tool and counsel caution about the effectiveness of "good governance," especially in new democracies. Finally, we discuss how contextual political factors external to Indonesia's anti-corruption commission, reinforce this empirical pattern. [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]

The global demand for water has been growing rapidly in the last decade with a global population growth rate of 1.1% p.a., which is equivalent to 81 million people per year. Southeast Asian countries are facing severe water scarcity challenge due to their location in the tropics. In 2018, the Sumba Island experienced the highest temperature of 36°C and lesser rainfall of 911.1 mm³ per year and it was classified as a long dry island prone to drought due to dry winds from Australian desserts. This paper focuses on the perceived effect of water scarcity on livelihoods in the Mandahu Village, Indonesia, due to climate change. Sampling and survey covered rural households and the findings showed that the average household of 4 to 8 people consumed around 250 dm³ of water per day. The community relied on two main sources of clean water from two main springs. However, the prolonged dry season from May until December every year results in major challenges to access water and eventually affect the agricultural productivity. Hence, the feasibility of the fog collection technology has been investigated from technological, economic and social points of view as a reliable and cost-effective source of water. The outcome of this work will produce a feasibility statement for fog-to-water as an alternative solution counteracting water scarcity in the Sumba Island, a solution which can be replicated in other climate change stricken hot spots in Southeast Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the revenue efficiency of Islamic banks in the Southeast Asian countries. Specifically, the empirical analysis comprises Islamic banks operating in Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. This paper also seeks to investigate the potential internal (bank-specific) and external (macroeconomic and industry-specific) factors which influence the revenue efficiency of Islamic banks operating in Southeast Asian countries. Design/methodology/approach - This paper used a whole gamut of domestic and foreign Islamic banks operating in Southeast Asian countries, namely, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei during the period of 2006-2011. The level of revenue efficiency is computed by using the data envelopment analysis (DEA) method. Following the procedure set in Banker and Natarajan (2008) and Gujarati (2002), this paper use a panel regression analysis framework based on the ordinary least square and generalized least square methods to examine the potential determinants of revenue efficiency of the Islamic banks in the sample. In addition, this paper also use a battery of parametric (t-test) and non-parametric (Mann-Whitney [Wilcoxon] and Kruskall-Wallis) tests to examine the difference in the revenue efficiency of the domestic and foreign Islamic banks. Findings - The results indicate that the level of revenue efficiency on the domestic Islamic banks is higher compared to that of their foreign Islamic bank counterparts. The empirical findings seem to suggest that revenue efficiency has greater influence on the profit efficiency levels. It was found that the bank size, asset quality, capitalization, liquidity and management quality significantly influence the revenue efficiency of domestic Islamic banks operating in Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei during the period under study. Research limitations/implications - Due to its limitations, the present study may be extended in variety of ways. First, if information on input prices is available, further analysis could be performed to investigate the cost, technical and allocative efficiency. Second, interested researchers may apply the Malmquist Productivity Index method to examine the sources of total factor productivity changes of Islamic banks operating in the ASEAN countries. Third, to obtain more robust results, empirical findings from the present study could be compared to the results derived from improved statistical methods, i.e. Bootstrap DEA. Practical implications - The empirical findings of this paper clearly call for regulators and decision-makers to review the revenue efficiency of banks operating in Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei Islamic banking sectors. The results could also provide better information and guidance to the managers of Islamic banks, as they need to have a clear understanding on the impact of revenue efficiency on the performance of their banks. The empirical findings of this paper may also have implications for investors whose main focus is to gain higher profit from their investments. Originality/value - The paper is the first to provide empirical evidence on the determinants of revenue, cost and profit efficiency of Islamic banks operating in Southeast Asian countries. [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]

This paper examines the complexity and multidimensional features of leadership and provides understanding of leadership in ASEAN integration. It highlights the significant roles of leadership in the integrating Southeast Asia and contradicts its common belief of invisible leadership. It highlights the role and the importance of Indonesia in the development of ASEAN as a main factor that can determine ASEAN's survival and success. Moreover, it insists that ASEAN is literally subject to structural powers, derived from material and resource capacity, in which leadership is highly attached to a leader's charisma. Finally, the paper proposes that the benevolent roles of Indonesia with strong emphasis on soft power are a key element of success. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Recent increases in female labour migration in and from Asia have triggered a surge of interest in how the absence of the mother and wife for extended periods of time affects the left-behind family, particularly children, in labour-sending countries. While migration studies in the region have shown that the extended family, especially female relatives, is often called on for support in childcare during the mother’s absence it is not yet clear how childcare arrangements are made. Drawing on in-depth interviews with non-parent carers of left-behind children in Indonesia and Vietnam, the paper aims to unveil complexities and nuances around care in the context of transnational labour migration. In so doing it draws attention to the enduring influence of social norms on the organisation of family life when women are increasingly drawn into the global labour market. By contrasting a predominantly patrilineal East Asian family structure in Vietnam with what is often understood as a bilateral South-East Asian family structure in Indonesia, the paper seeks to provide interesting comparative insights into the adaptive strategies that the transnational family pursues in order to cope with the reproductive vacuum left behind by the migrant mother. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between fair access policies and discourses of development through a policy analysis of higher education reform in post-authoritarian Indonesia (1998-present). The method was document analysis of five laws/regulations, using the criteria of accessibility, availability, and horizontality to identify the extent of fair access for students from (1) lower socioeconomic backgrounds and (2) under-developed regions of the archipelago. The analysis demonstrates how neoliberal, human capital, inclusive development and Pancasila discourses have been called upon in the making and un-making of a higher education market, with ultimately favourable outcomes for the fair access agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares post-transition Philippines and Indonesia, examining the ways in which authoritarian practices survive and are shaped by regime transition. It examines the transition process in each case, to identify the problems of management and control that regime elites set for themselves in the post-dictatorship period. It is argued that Philippine elites set out to disaggregate and domesticate an already mobilized opposition movement, while the Indonesian authorities strove to keep similar popular politics from mobilizing. The paper then considers how these political objectives find expression in the structuring of two important institutional fields - the electoral and policy making processes - concluding with an examination of how these considerations influence patterns of repression. In particular, the paper also investigates whether repression targets primarily proscribed modes of activity, or sets out to threaten and intimidate proscribed organizations and people. Differences in electoral and policy processes, as well as in patterns of repression, demonstrate the ways in which authoritarianism can survive regime transitions and can undermine the promise of democracy in the post-dictatorship period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Over the past 40 years many fish populations in Indonesian waters have been severely depleted. The paper argues that any explanation of these depletions must take account of the nature of the Indonesian state. The Indonesian state is a highly fragmented structure made up of competing components that in many cases have to raise their own revenue in order to function. The nature of the Indonesian state creates the conditions in which fisheries depletions are likely to occur. The paper develops this argument by focusing on the various ways in which Thai trawlers have operated in Indonesian waters and examining how the Indonesian navy''s responsibility for enforcing fishery regulations has often clashed with its own interests in fisheries. The paper argues that one way to overcome the limited ability of the Indonesian government to enforce fisheries regulations and to control the movement of fishing vessels into the waters of other countries is to establish a regional regulatory regime that builds on and expands the Southeast Asia Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC) advisory body. The paper concludes by examining some of the obstacles that might get in the way of the success of such a regime and proposing ways in which these obstacles can be overcome. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Implementation of large Chinese projects overseas is uneven, with the dynamic more complex than often portrayed. • Projects are rolled out more expeditiously in host states with a highly centralized political structure and vice versa. • Malaysia's power concentration has facilitated elite consensus and quickened the East Coast Rail Link's rollout. • Indonesia's implementation of the Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Rail has been checked by multiple influential stakeholders. • This paper's findings have important implications for future South-South cooperation in railway development. This paper focuses on two of the most prominent Chinese railway projects in Southeast Asia since the 2013 inception of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – Malaysia's East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) and Indonesia's Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Rail (HSR). Adding non-economic considerations and political contestation between central state organs into Sinha's (2005) framework on central-state/province interactions and their impact on economic development, it argues that the implementation of large, capital-intensive BRI projects is more complex than often portrayed. The ECRL is implemented considerably faster than the HSR primarily because, relative to Indonesia, Malaysia possesses a more centralized political structure. Malaysia's power concentration at two levels – between central and subnational players and amongst central players – has facilitated elite consensus and accelerated the ECRL's rollout. In contrast, Indonesia's decentralization exercise since the late 1990s, both at the spatial level and within the executive arm of the central government, has encouraged plurality of opinions and complicated project implementation. Despite President Joko Widodo's clear intentions to expedite the Jakarta-Bandung HSR, he has been checked by multiple influential stakeholders, resulting in delays. The Indonesians, relative to the Malaysians, appear to have negotiated a somewhat better deal from the Chinese railway consortium. However, these tentative gains are offset by the HSR's slow implementation, which in turn is undergirded by Indonesia's fragmented institutional arrangement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The climatic shifts during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition in Island Southeast Asia resulted in dramatic changes in landscape configurations which are presumed to have had greatly impacted vertebrate community composition and in turn human subsistence economies. Zooarcheological investigations in the region have provided information on how ancient foraging communities responded to these changes. However the complete picture remains to be elucidated. In this paper we present preliminary results of an ongoing analysis of faunal remains recovered from Braholo Cave in Eastern Java. We observed an overwhelming predominance of arboreal and semi-arboreal fauna, most notably the Javan langur, in the Late Pleistocene and Early-Mid Holocene deposits of the cave. In contrast earlier cave deposits were dominated by animal taxa generally associated with open environments such as bovids and cervids. This reflects forest expansion at the onset of the Holocene, albeit it also suggests deliberate targeting of specific taxa. The wide range of terrestrial, arboreal and aquatic species from various ecological niches suggests that the humans that inhabited the site subsisted on a mosaic of environments. It also hints on their intimate knowledge of these environments and the presence of different hunting technologies. Zooarchaeological parameters such as mortality profiles and body part representation allowed us to describe certain aspects of these hunting technologies. Our results provide unique insights on subsistence strategies of prehistoric foraging communities and the environment they encountered in Java during a key period in human history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Rare diseases, also referred to as orphan diseases, are characterised by their low prevalence with majority of them are chronically debilitating and life threatening. Given the low prevalence and the widely dispersed but very small patient base for each disease, there may often be a disproportion in the availability of treatments and resources to manage patients, spur research and train experts. This is especially true in Southeast Asian countries that are currently in the process of implementing or revising their universal health coverage schemes. This paper aims to examine the status of rare disease management in Southeast Asian countries. It will serve as the basis for a more active discussion on how countries in the region can address an under-recognised rare disease burden and enhance national and regional capacities.Methods: The study consists of literature reviews and key stakeholders interviews in six focus countries, including the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand and five countries as best practice, comprising of France, Canada, Australia, Taiwan, and South Korea. Rare disease management initiatives across each country were examined based on the World Health Organization's framework for action in strengthening health systems.Results: The results suggest rare disease management remains challenging across Southeast Asia, as many of the focus countries face fundamental issues from basic healthcare systems to funding. Nonetheless, there are substantial improvement opportunities, including leveraging best practices from around the world and organising a multi-stakeholder and regional approach and strategy.Conclusions: Southeast Asian countries have made significant progress in the management of rare disease, but there remain key areas for substantial development opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers how religious and economic factors shape assisted reproductive technology (ART) policy in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country. Infertility clinic policies are grounded on both the views of the country's powerful Islamic coalition and those of the worldwide Islamic community. Indonesian government officials, physicians, and Islamic scholars have expressed concern over who can use ART and which procedures can be performed. Indonesia has also faced economic challenges related to ART, including inadequate health insurance coverage, inequitable access to ART, and maintenance of expensive ART infrastructure. The prohibitive price of infertility treatment and regional differences in the provision of health care prohibit most Indonesians from obtaining ART. In the absence of a shift in religious mores and a rapid reduction in poverty and inequality, Indonesia will need to adopt creative means to make ART both more available and less necessary as a solution to infertility. This paper suggests policy reforms to promote more affordable treatment methods and support preventative health programmes to reduce infertility rates. This country-specific analysis of the laws and customs surrounding ART in Indonesia reveals that strategies to reduce infertility must be tailored to a country's unique religious and economic climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary This paper examines whether education empowers women. We exploit an exogenous variation in education induced by a longer school year in Indonesia in 1978, which fits a fuzzy regression discontinuity design. We find education reduces the number of live births, increases contraceptive use, and promotes reproductive health practices. However, except for a few outcome measures, we do not find evidence that education improves women’s decision-making authority within households, asset ownership, or community participation. These results suggest that, to some extent, education does empower women in middle-income countries like Indonesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) gears toward full regional integration by 2015, the cross-border mobility of workers and citizens at large is expected to further intensify in the coming years. While ASEAN member countries have already signed the Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers, the health rights of migrants still need to be addressed, especially with ongoing universal health coverage (UHC) reforms in most ASEAN countries. This paper seeks to examine the inclusion of migrants in the UHC systems of five ASEAN countries which exhibit diverse migration profiles and are currently undergoing varying stages of UHC development. Design: A scoping review of current migration trends and policies as well as ongoing UHC developments and migrant inclusion in UHC in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand was conducted. Results: In general, all five countries, whether receiving or sending, have schemes that cover migrants to varying extents. Thailand even allows undocumented migrants to opt into its Compulsory Migrant Health Insurance scheme, while Malaysia and Singapore are still yet to consider including migrants in their government-run UHC systems. In terms of predominantly sending countries, the Philippines's social health insurance provides outbound migrants with portable insurance yet with limited benefits, while Indonesia still needs to strengthen the implementation of its compulsory migrant insurance which has a health insurance component. Overall, the five ASEAN countries continue to face implementation challenges, and will need to improve on their UHC design in order to ensure genuine inclusion of migrants, including undocumented migrants. However, such reforms will require strong political decisions from agencies outside the health sector that govern migration and labor policies. Furthermore, countries must engage in multilateral and bilateral dialogue as they redefine UHC beyond the basis of citizenship and reimagine UHC systems that transcend national borders. Conclusions: By enhancing migrant coverage, ASEAN countries can make UHC systems truly 'universal'. Migrant inclusion in UHC is a human rights imperative, and it is in ASEAN's best interest to protect the health of migrants as it pursues the path toward collective social progress and regional economic prosperity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary The implementation of REDD+ requires knowledge of the willingness to accept land use change contracts and its application over large areas. This paper uses primary data from Indonesia to contrast two approaches to the elicitation of the supply curve for carbon: an auction and an analysis of opportunity costs. The analysis shows that there are important differences between the two approaches for a wide range of prices. An analysis of bidding behavior shows that location and individual preferences (time and risk preferences), but not opportunity costs, play a significant role in this decision. The implications for targeting are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indonesia is often regarded as the natural leader of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in light of its geographical dimensions, large population, strategic position and natural resources. The country has felt entitled to a position of leadership and has generally been recognized by the other ASEAN members as first among equals. While the de facto leadership of Indonesia has traditionally been accepted as conventional wisdom, little attention has been given to the extent to which Jakarta has actually succeeded in exercising leadership in ASEAN and how its attempt to do so has been perceived by the other Southeast Asian states. The paper explores this question by focusing on Indonesia's ability to provide international public goods in the areas of security and economics, engage in conflict management and promote institution building. It argues that the country has sought to establish a stable and autonomous security environment, to conduct conflict meditation efforts in the Cambodian conflict and the South China Sea disputes, and to develop institutional mechanisms to promote security, democracy and human rights among other issues. Still, Indonesia's leadership in ASEAN has been incomplete due to resistance from some members to its preference for an autonomous regional order and in recent years a democratic form of domestic governance. Its leadership has so far also been limited to the political and security spheres, leaving other sectors, like the economy, to others. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Highlights: [•] The paper analyzes public concerns about haze in Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. [•] It compares crises in 1997, 2005, and 2013, using newspaper content analysis. [•] Public debate is increasingly critical of Indonesia and palm oil companies. [•] The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) treaty on haze is criticized. [•] Public criticism is becoming more overt despite media controls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper analyses MOZAIC (Measurements of Ozone aboard Airbus in-service airCraft) measurements of carbon monoxide (CO) profiles over Bangkok to discuss the seasonality in vertical distribution during year 2005–2006. The mixing ratios of CO were enhanced in the lower troposphere being highest in winter followed by summer and wet seasons. During all the seasons, the mixing ratio of CO decreased rapidly and remained low in the middle troposphere. At higher altitudes (6–12 km), CO shows enhanced values particularly during wet and early winter seasons. The strong seasonality in CO was caused by the seasonal shift in the patterns of the long-range transport and biomass burning (BB) in South and Southeast Asia (S–SE Asia). Flow of cleaner air and negligible BB resulted in the lowest mixing ratio of CO in the wet season. In addition to anthropogenic influence, the long-range transport and BB caused the higher CO in the winter and summer seasons, respectively. Despite extensive local BB activities in Thailand during the summer season, the moderate levels of CO were attributed to the dilution due to flow of cleaner marine from the Indian and Pacific Oceans. We have also compared the observations with the Model for Ozone And Related Chemical Tracers (MOZART) simulations. Mostly the observations lie between the MOZART-2 and MOZART-4 simulations as they underestimate and overestimate the observed CO, respectively. In the middle and upper troposphere, both the observed and simulated mixing ratios of CO during September–November of year 2006 were higher by 15–30 ppbv compared to the same period of year 2005. Our analysis indicates the impact of El Niño induced extensive BB in Indonesia during the year 2006. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Recent evidence has linked illegal peat and forest fires in Indonesia to commercial oil palm plantations. Fire is the most cost-efficient way to clear land for planting, but these fires release smoke causing transboundary haze pollution. The countries worst affected by the haze are neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore. Malaysian and Singaporean investors control more than two-thirds of the Indonesian oil palm plantation sector and they have been implicated in the fires alongside local plantations. Using information obtained from interviews with individuals linked to the sector, this paper aims to explain why these companies continue to burn despite the dire consequences of the haze. It identifies patronage politics as a common business culture in Southeast Asia, and argues that because these Malaysian and Singaporean investors are already familiar with patronage practices at home, they have easily inserted themselves into existing patronage networks in Indonesia. Hence, these companies enjoy the protection of their Indonesian patrons during their operations. Furthermore, in a business atmosphere defined by patronage politics, clients are largely motivated by material gain. This explains why Malaysian and Singaporean investors continue to clear land by fire in the interests of cost-efficiency, despite their home countries suffering the worst effects of haze. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many foreign aid agencies promote peacebuilding as a global policy objective. This paper considers how they have fared in practice in subnational, “peripheral” conflicts in Asia that have relatively low international profiles, using case material from Aceh in Indonesia, the Far South of Thailand, and Sri Lanka. Foreign aid has supported long-term economic growth in these countries but typically failed to address peacebuilding concerns or associated inequalities between ethnic groups. Many barriers limit the scope to promote peacebuilding, stemming from recipient governments’ reluctance to accept external involvement and from aid agencies’ own limitations. Those agencies that do address conflict concerns tend not to use technical peacebuilding tools or methodologies. Instead, they prioritize the root causes of conflicts, recognizing human rights protection and equality of opportunity as policy aims. They also devise responses locally, build good relationships with governments, and work incrementally from a strong knowledge base. Wider adoption of similar policy objectives and practice would enable further small-scale peacebuilding initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the wake of avian flu outbreaks in 2004, Cambodia received $45 million in commitments from international donors to help combat the spread of animal and human influenza, particularly avian influenza (H5N1). How countries leverage foreign aid to address the specific needs of donors and the endemic needs of the nation is a complex and nuanced issue throughout the developing world. Cambodia is a particularly compelling study in pandemic preparedness and the management of avian influenza because of its multilayered network of competing local, national, and global needs, and because the level of aid in Cambodia represents approximately $2.65 million per human case -- a disproportionately high number when compared with neighbors Vietnam and Indonesia. This paper examines how the Cambodian government has made use of animal and human influenza funds to protect (or fail to protect) its citizens and the global community. It asks how effective donor and government responses were to combating avian influenza in Cambodia, and what improvements could be made at the local and international level to help prepare for and respond to future outbreaks. Based on original interviews, a field survey of policy stakeholders, and detailed examination of Cambodia's health infrastructure and policies, the findings illustrate that while pandemic preparedness has shown improvements since 2004, new outbreaks and human fatalities accelerated in 2011, and more work needs to be done to align the specific goals of funders with the endemic needs of developing nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in globalised agriculture raise critical questions as rapid agricultural development leads to widespread social and environmental transformation. With increased global demand for vegetable oils and biofuel, in Indonesia the area under oil palm has doubled over the last decade. This paper presents a case study of how micro-processes that are linked to wider dynamics shape oil palm related agrarian change in villages in Sumatra, Indonesia. It pursues related questions regarding the impact of agribusiness-driven agriculture, the fate of smallholders experiencing contemporary agrarian transition, and the impact of increased demand for vegetable oils and biofuels on agrarian structures in Sumatra. It argues that the paths of agrarian change are highly uneven and depend on how changing livelihood strategies are enabled or constrained by economic, social and political relations that vary over time and space. In contrast to simplifying narratives of inclusion/exclusion, it argues that outcomes depend on the terms under which smallholders engage with oil palm. Distinguishing between exogenous processes of agribusiness expansion and endogenous commodity market expansion, it finds each is associated with characteristic processes of change. It concludes that the way successive policy interventions have worked with the specific characteristics of oil palm have cumulatively shaped the space where agrarian change occurs in Sumatra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Excavations at Liang Bua, on the Indonesian island of Flores, have yielded a stratified sequence of stone artifacts and faunal remains spanning the last 95k.yr., which includes the skeletal remains of two human species, Homo sapiens in the Holocene and Homo floresiensis in the Pleistocene. This paper summarizes and focuses on some of the evidence for Homo floresiensis in context, as presented in this Special Issue edition of the Journal of Human Evolution and elsewhere. Attempts to dismiss the Pleistocene hominins (and the type specimen LB1 in particular) as pathological pygmy humans are not compatible with detailed analyses of the skull, teeth, brain endocast, and postcranium. We initially concluded that H. floresiensis may have evolved by insular dwarfing of a larger-bodied hominin species over 880k.yr. or more. However, recovery of additional specimens and the numerous primitive morphological traits seen throughout the skeleton suggest instead that it is more likely to be a late representative of a small-bodied lineage that exited Africa before the emergence of Homo erectus sensu lato. Homo floresiensis is clearly not an australopithecine, but does retain many aspects of anatomy (and perhaps behavior) that are probably plesiomorphic for the genus Homo. We also discuss some of the other implications of this tiny, endemic species for early hominin dispersal and evolution (e.g., for the “Out of Africa 1” paradigm and more specifically for colonizing Southeast Asia), and we present options for future research in the region. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper contends that the abortive PKI-FDR uprising in Indonesia during the last quarter of 1948 marked an important turning point in the American policy toward the Indonesian struggle for independence against the Dutch. Before 1948, American policy toward Southeast Asia was almost exclusively dictated by the imperatives of European considerations, hence was pro-Dutch. The outbreak of the PKI-FDR not only raised the scepter of Communism in Indonesia but also underscored the belief Indonesian nationalism had to be settled in a just and practical way as a precondition to fight communism. In the final analysis, however, it cannot be said that the PKI-FDR revolt was ultimately responsible for the American decision to support the Indonesians. When threat of sanction was finally instituted against the Dutch, it was again European considerations which dictate the move. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the growth and slowdown in the electronics industry in Southeast Asia. American, Japanese and European multinational corporations relocated operations in Singapore, Malaysia and Philippines in the late 1960s and early 1970s to begin electronics assembly, packaging and testing, which was followed in the late 1980s and 1990s by the relocation of electronics manufacturing from Japanese, European, American, Korean, Singaporean and Taiwanese multinationals to the above Southeast Asian countries as well as Thailand and Indonesia. Whereas Singapore has managed significant upgrading to designing and development activities through the provision of grants, incentives, labs and strong infrastructure coordination, electronics production in the remaining countries has largely remained entrenched in assembly, packaging and testing activities. The failure of Malaysia and Thailand to support technological upgrading has undermined the capacity of these economies to sustain rapid growth of the industry as China, Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam have a big edge in low wages and the labour force. Hence, while Singapore has managed to upgrade, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam continue to enjoy rapid growth in low-end manufacturing activities, Malaysia and Thailand have faced a fall in the significance of the industry since 2000. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is a higher degree of party and party system institutionalization positively correlated with the consolidation of democracy, defined here as the prevention of democratic breakdown? In order to answer this question, it is useful to compare different levels and types of institutionalization in three Southeast Asian electoral democracies. Institutionalized party systems are characterized, according to Mainwaring and Torcal, by 'stability of interparty competition.' Moreover, the distinction made by Levitsky ('value infusion' versus 'behavioural routinization') with reference to the institutionalization of individual parties will be employed. The empirical research of this paper finds that most Indonesian parties are better institutionalized than those in the Philippines and Thailand with reference to 'value infusion.' In addition, the interparty competition is more stable in Indonesia. Therefore, the probability of a collapse of the party system in the Philippines and Thailand is much higher. This, in turn, renders the democracies in these countries more fragile and prone to political crises or even sudden breakdowns. The early organizational consolidation of social cleavages, such as in Indonesia, enhances institutionalization. A few of the most important parties are socially rooted and have strong linkages to civil and/or religious organizations. Furthermore, the relationship between central and local elites appears to be essential: strong bosses or cliques undermine institutionalization in the Philippines and in Thailand, respectively. However, in recent years there has also been a tendency towards convergence. There are signs of regression in Indonesia, such that the future of the party system is open to question. This article calls for caution with respect to the stated causal relation between institutionalization and democratic consolidation, and it questions some aspects of the concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Critical to the success of community development is the degree to which citizens contribute their resources. The paper develops regression models to examine the effects of household and community characteristics on household contributions of time and money to three types of participatory community development efforts: governance, social welfare, and environmental infrastructure. Households with indicators of lower socio-economic status generally contributed less time and money to community development. Integration into social networks was also a strong predictor of the amount of time a household contributed. Because most of the community development efforts analyzed rely on reciprocity, where participants contribute resources in order to receive benefits, the findings raise doubts about the extent to which these efforts help the poor and socially excluded. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper analyzes the use of symbolic animals in Indonesia and Southeast Asia generally as markers of place or state of being, and aids in transition between states of being. It shows that especially naga and Garuda, both subsets of a larger category of naga, respectively define the categories upperworld and underworld as the male and female extremes of a water continuum. These are linked by the rainbow, which is also a member of the naga category. Together these symbolic animals make up the axis mundi, as can be seen in both the symbolic mountain of the Javanese shadow theatre and the Balinese cremation tower. Within the arc of water created by these three elements lies the earth, which has emerged from, and can be seen to be part of the underworld. The emergence of the earth as well as states and crops from the underworld is made possible by the movement of buffalo or its equivalents, which also aid in the transition of human beings from the prenatal state, through life and into death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines whether foreign-owned plants are more productive than locally owned plants and whether the differences in productivity are related to the degree of foreign ownership in Indonesian manufacturing in 1995. The results indicate that foreign-owned plants have higher productivity than locally owned plants. Moreover, after accounting for the age of the plant, the results indicate that wholly foreign-owned plants tend to have higher productivity than other foreign-owned plants and that relatively new foreign-owned plants tend to have relatively low productivity levels. The relationship between the share of foreign ownership and productivity level differs among industries, and in some industries, minority or majority foreign-owned plants have relatively high productivity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The paper is concerned with the relationship between terrorism and tourism and examines the implications of the Bali bombings in 2002, the focus being on the period immediately following the terrorist attack. After a brief account of the incident, its adverse consequences for tourism in Indonesia and the wider Southeast Asian region are assessed and the responses of official tourism and marketing agencies are analysed. Events are seen to have damaged tourist arrivals with efforts by the authorities to secure recovery through expressions of sympathy and regret, offers of reassurance regarding safety and security, domestic and regional promotion and discounting. While every situation is unique, these strategies have also been employed in other destinations experiencing crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The International Code of Marketing of Breast‐milk Substitutes (the Code) adopted by the World Health Assembly (WHA) in 1981 and regularly updated through subsequent WHA resolutions, represents the international policy framework for protecting breastfeeding against inappropriate marketing practices. By March 2016, at least 135 countries had some measures covering provisions of the Code in their legislation. The translation of the International Code into national measures was investigated in the context of the advocacy efforts undertaken by the Alive & Thrive (A&T) initiative with UNICEF and partners. A real‐time evaluation was carried out over 22 months in seven Southeast Asian countries (Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic [Lao PDR], Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and Timor‐Leste) and two African countries (Burkina Faso and Ethiopia). Drivers of policy change and progress were examined. Two theory‐based approaches were used: developmental evaluation and contribution analysis. Data collection methods included participant observation, key informant meetings, in‐depth interviews, reflective practice, and desk review. Overall, countries made significant progress in translating the International Code into national measures and in moving forward throughout the policy cycle. The main driver of policy change was the creation of a strategic group, which engaged key relevant actors and supported the government in the performance of 15 critical tasks, which the analysis reveals is a second driver. Those critical tasks are described in this paper and could help public health advocates to anticipate the stages and challenges of policy change and develop more effective strategies to translate the Code into their legal framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]