Landscape transformation in Jambi province, Sumatra - An analysis of land tenure regulations under translational dynamics

Background
Cultural “landscapes are treasures form the past, frame contemporary everyday life, and effect future environmental, economic and cultural processes” (Roca et al, 2011). The project at hand focuses on the questions how historical layers of settlement, land use and population structure determine the current cultural landscape and the rural livelihood systems in Jambi province. Here, the utilization of natural resources started with Dutch colonial rule in the beginning of the 20th century, and was continued after independence (1945), especially by rubber production. During the 1970s another period of change started with the expansion of road infrastructure, commercial logging and migration, in many cases through transmigration projects, followed or accompanied by the expansion of oil palm production. The conceptual framework of the project is based on a historic geographical approach on conditions and ramifications of land use change. With respect to methodology, qualitative approaches will be used and applied to a perspective focusing on human-environmental interactions. We will generate our data by reviewing literature and archives, applying village case studies, household case studies, and stakeholder questioning by semi-structured interview techniques, and focus group interviews. The files and transcripts will be exploited by content analyses.

Research Objectives
The main objective is to identify regional idiographic and nomothetic aspects determining the cultural landscape transformation in the study regions Harapan Rainforest (HRF) and Taman Nasional Bukit Duabelas (TNBD). The historical drivers of land use change will be highlighted by focusing on a regional analyses of demographic development (population structure, migration, ethnicity), settlement patterns and other determining factors, as well as physical geography aspects concerning regional and local accessibility and variations of land use over time.

Methodology and concept
To explain the historical development of the cultural landscape in Jambi Province we will review literature and archives, including historical maps and statistics (Jakarta, Leiden), for the younger periods we will rely on Indonesian surveys and census data (i.e. PODES, SUSENAS, BKKBN). To explain the land use history and the social and institutional settings in time we will select eight villages in the study area and implement household case studies with semi-structured interviews. The generated interviews will be recorded, transcript, and extracted by content analyses. Text analyses and data management will be supported by MAXQDA software, one of the leading programs for qualitative data analyses.