Stakeholder Perceptions of Fire and Haze
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This presentation, delivered by Rachel Carmenta and Jacob Phelps, describes research into stakeholder perceptions in Sumatra. The central topic is the 'wicked problem' of Sumatran peatland fires - so called because there are no obvious technical solutions, multiple actors at play, and many interdependencies that make outcomes of policy interventions uncertain.
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Stakeholder Perceptions of Fire and Haze
- 1. Stakeholder perceptions of fire & haze Rachel Carmenta, Jacob Phelps
- 2. Fire & Haze: a “wicked” environmental problem because... • No easy or technical solutions, esp on peatland • Hotly contested, political issues, multiple actors • Many interdependencies How do different actors perceive: • Trade-offs (benefits, burdens of fire) • Different possible solutions? This new information can: • Clarify debates / positions / coalitions • Provide boundary object for negotiations • Debunk “myths”
- 3. Tropical peatland fires and transboundary haze Agroindustry Singaporean decision-makers Small farmers Hired labourers Local & national decision-makers
- 4. ~130+ targeted responses to statements on: • Priorities regarding benefits and burdens of fire • conservation • health • livelihoods • regional economy • transportation • Preferred solutions • fire fighting strategies • incentive structures • who to target with enforcement
Editor's Notes
- This is a presentation that is under way right now, so we do not yet have finds yet.
- Many contentious environmental problems, such as tropical peatland fires, can be described as “wicked problems” because they lack clear solutions, have powerful drivers and incentives for use, are hotly contested between multiple actors and have many interdependences such that any one interventions can have a number of additional, unknown impacts. Rachel and Jacob’s research is applying tools from quantitative social psychology to the environment field to understand how people perceive this “wicked problem” of Sumatran peatland fires, including related trade-offs and different solutions. Such information is important when consensus and solutions are so elusive, and can help to clarify policy debates and processes, enable negotiation and consensus-building, and also debunk “myths” about how different groups understand particular problems.
- While we often make assumptions about the actors involved in fire and haze and fire management, it is important to remind ourselves of the complexity involved in attempting to solve these problems. Evidenced in the current, and widespread failure, of fire control and management policies across the tropics today. Notably, consider the wide diversity of stakeholders, involved in shaping landscapes in places such as Riau, with multiple incentives for fire use and varying degrees of political power. Also, the wide range of actors who are affected by fire and haze. Meaningful solutions are challenged to address how each of these different groups experience and affect fire. Capturing this diversity is at the core of our research project, which is measuring perceptions across – at least – 10 different actor groups. These groups range from small-scale farmers with less than 2ha of land, to regional Indonesian investors, to government agencies, to Singapore decision-makers. This research contributes research at other scales, using different methodologies, notably remote sensing methods which are frequently used as a tool in fire management, yet a tool which is unable to capture an understanding of the socio-political and economic drivers of the processes behind the patterns it detects and one which is also underequipped as a stand alone instrument, to generate meaningful solutions.
- With the ten actor groups in our sample, we are applying the same instruments to measure peoples perceptions, with a method called the Q-method. Q method lends itself to researching sensitive issues, since it negates the need for respondents to voice their personal experience of fire, rather they arrange previously collected statements about fire. Necessary to this method, we have identified a wide range of existing perceptions related to benefits/burdens of fire, and prospective solutions to fire. Each of these perceptions statements is placed on a card and then respondents are asked to rank these into a forced distribution, where each card placement is relational to the surrounding cards. For example, they are asked to rank their preferred solutions based on a scale from most to least effective.
- Using factor analysis, we can look for clusters of perceptions across our respondents. This serves to identify broad coalitions across our respondents, which essentially represent distinct ways of thinking about fire -- knowledge fundamental to understanding how people will respond to different proposed solutions. There is potentially little logic, for example, in pursuing solutions that multiple actor groups on the ground considered ineffective. Similarly, while public education about fire and haze may represent part of a future solution, outreach efforts must respond to the priorities of the target audiences. Importantly, this research approach will also allow us to pick out individual statements that 1) represent points of agreement across the different clusters and can serve as points for building consensus. Conversely, we can identify “sticky points” that most separated out these different groups – there are areas for future negotiation.
- Layout: Closing Slide Variation: none