Abstract
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.
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19 June 2024
A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-024-02007-y
Notes
Sustainable commodity production is a response to stop or reduce deforestation through supply chain-based initiatives such as large businesses pledging to zero deforestation in their supply chain, and by volunteering to achieve sustainability certification standards.
RSPO certification is a global standard certifying the sustainability of palm oil production.
The RSPO Secretariat is in charge of the day to day running of the RSPO, and services the RSPO members and RSPO’s board of governors.
An association that has legal standing in the eyes of the jurisdiction’s law, established within a jurisdiction, and holds the RSPO certificate for that jurisdiction.
This document provides guidance for a jurisdiction to be certified following RSPO standards.
The weighted average of the scores given by the flagged Q-sorts to that statement (Zabala, 2014).
This is when a factor is defined by both positive and negative loading Q-sorts. A Q-sort that loads significantly at the negative end represents an opposing viewpoint to those Q-sorts that load positively on the positive end (Watts and Stenner 2012)
A form of tax often charged by governments for a social or environmental purpose.
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The authors thank the individuals who participated in this study for their valuable time and insights.
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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.
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JNSC, CC, RC, and AK contributed to the study design and conception. JNSC conducted the interviews, performed data analysis, and prepared the first draft of the paper. All authors provided revisions and comments to previous versions of this paper and approved the final manuscript.
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Ng, J.S.C., Chervier, C., Carmenta, R. et al. Balancing Ambitions and Realities: Stakeholder Perspectives on Jurisdictional Approach Outcomes in Sabah’s Forests. Environmental Management 73, 259–273 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-023-01876-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-023-01876-z