the struggle of accommodating divergent knowledge systems in East Java, Indonesia

243 Pages·2017·3.71 MB·English

by  Nugroho, Hesthi Utami

Lincoln University Digital Thesis 

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thesis.
Recasting knowledge governance:
The struggle of accommodating divergent knowledge systems
in East Java, Indonesia

A thesis
submitted in partial fulfilment
of the requirements for the Degree of
PhD in Environmental Management

at
Lincoln University
by
Hesthi Utami Nugroho

Lincoln University
2016
Abstract
Recasting knowledge governance:
the struggle of accomodating divergent knowledge systems
in East Java, Indonesia

by Hesthi Utami Nugroho

The role of knowledge in environmental policy development and implementation is gaining
more attention nowadays. Scholars have argued for some time that the implementation of
environmental policy should appreciate the local situation more, as people’s understanding
about the environment is diverse, and scientific knowledge cannot be the only knowledge to
view, explain and solve environmental issues.
It is believed that including the knowledge of local people can improve the implementation of
environmental policies. Nevertheless, what happens when local knowledge is explicitly
included in the decision-making process? Drawing on a knowledge governance conceptual
framework and an analysis of documents, field observations and 35 semistructured interviews,
this qualitative research investigates knowledge governance in practice through a
conservation agriculture programme introduced to two rural villages in East Java, Indonesia.
The programme endeavoured to integrate the scientific knowledge of public agency scientists
and the local knowledge of farmers with the expectation that this integrative approach would
foster social, economic and environmental sustainability and improve the water quality of the
Brantas River at the same time.
Inspired by Arnstein’s (1969) ladder of participation, this thesis develops a knowledge
governance ladder as a way to understand and assess the processes of knowledge production
in environmental decision-making in terms of power sharing, divergent ways of knowing, and
the ontologies held by different groups of stakeholders. This research concludes that the
knowledge governance ladder needs to incorporate a pathway of “coexistence” to move
beyond current conceptions of coproduction. It is argued that coexistence highlights mutual
understanding, recognition and respect for different ways of knowing and ontologies of
different stakeholders. The thesis concludes that recent definitions of knowledge governance
in the context of environmental management lack sufficient applicability in developing
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countries as they do not adequately address the existence of traditional/ or local traditions and
rituals. The definition of knowledge governance should, therefore, include respect for local
knowledge and the elements within it, which are traditions, rituals, and religious values. The
expected goals to be achieved from knowledge governance must be based on the consent of
all stakeholders without overlooking others’ beliefs and values. This thesis also provides
recommendations for both practice and further research.
Keywords: Knowledge governance, coexistence, scientific knowledge, local knowledge,
ontology, ways of knowing, power sharing, knowledge scales, knowledge coproduction,
knowledge integration, local farmers, East Java Indonesia, conservation agriculture
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Acknowledgements
There are many people who have helped me survive this PhD journey whom I have to say
thank you to. First, I would like to send my gratitude to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
Trade and the New Zealand Aid Programme, who provided the scholarship so I could
undertake this further study.
I would also like to thank my supervisors, Dr. Ronlyn Duncan, who knew me even before I
applied for the NZAid scholarship and always was superly patient with me when things got
lost in translation quite often. Thank you for always believing that I could complete this
journey. Thank you to Dr. Michael Mackay who gave me so many ideas during my writing
and helped me to re-structure this thesis. Thank you to Dr. Roddy Hale for your intense
supervision of me during the first two years of my study.
To Tracey Shields, Douglas Broughton, Michelle Collings, who always supported my study
environment. Thank you for thinking of me and helping me move from one building to
another just because I needed a quiet space to study. Thank you for lending me the key when I
got locked out from my office, and thank you for lending me pens as well, as sometimes I
became so disorganised. Thank you also to Joan Gladwyn for the copy editing.
I also would like to thank the farmers and public agency representatives who were involved in
the programme I researched. Thank you for making phone calls to relevant sources for me so
my fieldwork went as expected. Specifically, I want to thank not only the farmers but also the
rural societies in Tulungrejo and Sumberbrantas villages who always helped me during my
stay. Thank you for the greetings, stories, and jokes that we shared. Thank you for showing
me the kindness that your societies are known for. I learned a lot about your social life and it
was priceless.
I have to say thank you to my Indonesian friends and their families who live around Lincoln,
and who always made my days colourful when I felt so gloomy with my writing. Thank you
for your help, honesty and kindness to me and my family. Thank you for all the chats,
gatherings and support. Above all, thank you for helping my family move into the new house
when I had a writing deadline, it was extremely helpful. Also, thank you to Kathy Kise,
Caroline Depatie and Fiona Watson for our beautiful friendship. Thank you for those
conversations other than about the thesis, which were enlightening. Big thank you to Revindo
who helped me organise the content of this thesis, and especially for arranging its list of tables
and figures.
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Thank you to my family back home, my parents and my siblings, who always prayed for me.
Thank you for your endless support. Thank you for the stories that you always sent to me,
which made me miss you all even more.
Thank you to my friends in Indonesia who always contacted me online, by Blackberry
Messenger, WhatsApp, Line and Facebook. Thank you for all the stories from back home that
you shared with me, which were very entertaining.
Last, but not least, I want to thank my husband and children who patiently came along on this
journey with me. Thank you for all of your sacrifices, in following me around so that I could
pursue my dream. Thank you for being patient and understanding when I was so tense with
my thesis. I promise I will behave after this. Importantly, to my husband, thank you for letting
me explore foods and online shopping when I was very stressed with my thesis. Love you to
the Neptune and back.
Thank you. Terima kasih. Matur nuwun. Nuwus sing uuwhakeh yo kerr!!!
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Table of Contents

Abstract ...................................................................................................................................ii
Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................. iv
Table of Contents .................................................................................................................... vi
List of Tables ............................................................................................................................ x
List of Figures .......................................................................................................................... xi
List of Abbreviations ............................................................................................................... xii
Chapter 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1
1.1 Background ...............................................................................................................................1
1.2 Research problem .....................................................................................................................3
1.3 Research questions ...................................................................................................................5
1.4 Research structure ....................................................................................................................5
Chapter 2 Background ............................................................................................................. 6
2.1 Introduction ..............................................................................................................................6
2.2 East Java province .....................................................................................................................6
2.2.1 Geography and climate ................................................................................................ 7
2.2.2 Demography ................................................................................................................. 7
2.2.3 Local languange ............................................................................................................ 7
2.2.4 History and government system .................................................................................. 8
2.3 Overview of the agricultural policies in East Java .................................................................. 10
2.3.1 Agriculture policy in the centralisation era ................................................................10
2.3.2 Conservation agriculture – a new policy approach....................................................11
2.3.3 Conservation agriculture in Indonesia .......................................................................15
2.3.4 Agriculture and the Brantas River watershed ............................................................17
2.4 Local traditions within the agricultural sector in East Java.................................................... 18
2.5 Historical context of conservation agriculture programmes in East Java .............................. 19
Chapter 3 Conceptual Framework ........................................................................................... 25
3.1 Introduction................................................................................................................................ 25
3.2 Implementing environmental policy: the focus on knowledge ................................................. 26
3.3 Knowledge governance .............................................................................................................. 32
3.3.1 Scientific knowledge ......................................................................................................36
3.3.2 Local knowledge .............................................................................................................38
3.3.3 Power and scale .............................................................................................................42
3.4 Knowledge integration ............................................................................................................... 46
3.5 Knowledge coproduction ........................................................................................................... 47
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3.5.1 Boundary organisations .............................................................................................50
3.6 Knowledge coproduction: a critique .......................................................................................... 52
3.6.1 Boundary objects ...........................................................................................................54
3.7 Coproductive capacities ............................................................................................................. 55
3.8 Ladder of knowledge governance .............................................................................................. 57
3.9 Trust ........................................................................................................................................... 63
3.10 Summary .................................................................................................................................. 65
Chapter 4 Research Methods .................................................................................................. 67
4.1 Introduction................................................................................................................................ 67
4.2 Qualitative social research ......................................................................................................... 67
4.3 Research setting ......................................................................................................................... 68
4.3.1 The villages (case studies) ..........................................................................................69
4.4. Data collection procedures and participant selection .............................................................. 71
4.4.1 Semistructured interviews .............................................................................................71
4.4.2 Farmer interviews ..........................................................................................................73
4.4.3 Key informant interviews ...............................................................................................74
4.4.4 Document analysis .........................................................................................................75
4.4.5 Participant observations ................................................................................................76
4.5 Thematic analysis of the interview data .................................................................................... 77
4.6 Research limitations ................................................................................................................... 78
4.7 Role of the researcher (reflexivity)............................................................................................. 79
4.8 Summary .................................................................................................................................... 81
Chapter 5 Public Agency Representatives: Government and Scientists .................................... 82
5.1 Introduction................................................................................................................................ 82
5.2 Programme implementation ...................................................................................................... 82
5.2.1 Formal setting of knowledge delivery............................................................................83
5.2.2 One-way communication ...............................................................................................84
5.3 The challenges ............................................................................................................................ 87
5.3.1 Hierarchical institutions .............................................................................................87
5.3.2 Lack of commitment: responsibility and accountability ............................................89
5.3.3 Problem of communication within the team .............................................................91
5.4 Problematic framing ................................................................................................................... 92
5.4.1 Conservation techniques are scientific techniques and practices .................................92
5.4.2 Farmers are commercially driven individuals ................................................................93
5.5 Local knowledge means local cultivation techniques ................................................................ 95
5.6 Trust ........................................................................................................................................... 97
5.6.1 Existence of the demonstration plot .............................................................................97
5.6.2 Using the local language to gain trust ...........................................................................98
5.7 Summary .................................................................................................................................... 98
Chapter 6 Role of the Mediator: Field Facts ........................................................................... 100
6.1 Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 100
6.2 Implementation and its challenges .......................................................................................... 100
6.2.1 More than a mediator ..............................................................................................100
6.2.2 Overlooking important cultural aspects ..................................................................103
6.2.3 Farmers’ ignorance because of scientists’ poor time management ........................104
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6.3 Exclusion of local traditions, rituals, and practices .................................................................. 105
6.4 Trust ......................................................................................................................................... 106
6.4.1 Actual results will gain trust .........................................................................................106
6.4.2 More than just using local language ............................................................................107
6.5 Summary .................................................................................................................................. 108
Chapter 7 The Farmers ......................................................................................................... 109
7.1 Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 109
7.2 Programme implementation .................................................................................................... 110
7.2.1 Lack of responsibility ....................................................................................................110
7.2.2 Concern over inclusion of local knowledge .................................................................114
7.2.3 Limited sharing of information ....................................................................................115
7.3 Differences between knowledge systems ................................................................................ 116
7.3.1 Navigation of two systems: management of past and present ...................................116
7.3.2 Ancestors’ traditions imbued with present cultivation practices ................................120
7.3.3 Signs from nature guide local practices .......................................................................124
7.3.4 Decision-making process has a complex social dynamic .............................................127
7.4 Trust ......................................................................................................................................... 128
7.4.1 Gaining trust requires responsibility ............................................................................129
7.5 Summary .................................................................................................................................. 131
Key themes across the Results Chapters ................................................................................ 132
Chapter 8 Discussion ............................................................................................................. 135
8.1 Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 135
8.2 How is the conservation agriculture programme delivered in East Java, Indonesia? ............. 138
8.3 What are farmers’ perceptions towards the programme of conservation agriculture? ....... 139
8.4 How do farmers navigate the divergent knowledge systems? ............................................... 140
8.5 Key themes across the results chapters ................................................................................... 140
8.6 Key aspects of knowledge governance .................................................................................... 142
8.6.1 Ontology .......................................................................................................................142
8.6.2 Way of knowing ...........................................................................................................144
8.6.3 Power ...........................................................................................................................145
8.6.4 Scale of knowledge ......................................................................................................150
8.7. Knowledge governance: the practice ...................................................................................... 151
8.7.1 Knowledge integration .................................................................................................156
8.7.2 Managing boundaries ..................................................................................................158
8.7.3 Coproduction: the foundation of coproductive capacities ..........................................161
8.7.4 Coproductive capacities ...............................................................................................162
8.8 Coexistence: the next concept of knowledge governance ...................................................... 165
8.9 Summary .................................................................................................................................. 167
Chapter 9 Conclusions .......................................................................................................... 171
9.1 Practical implications ............................................................................................................... 172
9.2 Theoretical contribution to knowledge governance ................................................................ 175
9.3 Recommendations for future study ......................................................................................... 177
References ........................................................................................................................... 178
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Appendix 1 Interview Schedule ............................................................................................. 191
A.1 Interview questions for scientists ........................................................................................ 192
A.2 Interview questions for the government representative .................................................... 199
A.3 Interview questions for the field person ............................................................................. 205
A.4 Interview questions for farmers .......................................................................................... 210
Appendix 2 ........................................................................................................................... 217
Information Sheets ............................................................................................................... 217
B.1 Information sheet in English .................................................................................................... 217
B.2 Information sheet in Bahasa Indonesia ................................................................................... 220
B.3 Interview consent form ............................................................................................................ 224
Appendix 3 Brainstorming Diagrams ..................................................................................... 226
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