Evaluating the interrelated impacts of commodity agriculture, market access, and forest conservation on food security in tropical landscape

There are multiple interrelated pathways by which livelihoods and food security may respond to tropical land use changes, including interactions between agricultural expansion, market integration, and conservation policies. Despite numerous studies evaluating the impact of forest conservation programmes on livelihoods, recognition of the role of market access to poverty alleviation, and the social and environmental consequences of commodity agriculture development in the tropics, the implication of these three land use policies on livelihoods and food security is rarely appraised collectively.

In addition, multidimensional aspects of food security and external factors associated with various conservation schemes (protected area compared to community-based land management) and agricultural production models (monoculture plantations compared to polyculture and agroforestry smallholdings) are not frequently evaluated.

This project seeks to address this issue by analysing the interrelated impacts of various forest conservation scheme and agricultural production model on food security and how this interacts with access to markets. Food security is measured via multidimensional indicators. Using data from the culturally and biologically diverse country of Indonesia, the project will offer novel insights and recommendations on the appropriate distribution and size of lands allocated to commodity agriculture and conservation in tropical landscapes, given market accessibility, land productivity, and socio-governance contexts, in order to achieve more equitable livelihood and food security outcomes.

Key products of this project will include:

(1) Peer-reviewed publications: (i) analysing the expansion of commodity agriculture and forest conservation in Indonesia and how they relate to change in market accessibility, land productivity, land governance, and socio-demographic features, and (ii) evaluating the interrelated impacts of forest protection and commodity agriculture on multi-dimensional food security, and how this varies by market accessibility;

(2) New data linkages of the change in the distribution of multiple agricultural systems and forest conservation initiatives at a district level between 2000 and 2020 across five major Indonesian islands, and the associated changes in biophysical and socioeconomic conditions. (3) Training and capacity building on land use change and food security analysis at universities in Indonesia.

(4) A policy brief with an infographic outlining research findings to inform policy discussions on improved land use planning.

(5) An online mapping platform that allows users to visualize the change in the distribution of multiple agricultural systems, forest conservation initiatives, and market access indicators through time across Indonesia to inform sustainable development planning.