Testing and Enhancing the 8R Framework of Responsible Land Management with Documented Strategies and Effects of Land Reclamation Projects in Indonesia

Abstract

Whereas most contemporary frameworks evaluating land management aspects focus on institutional settings at a national level, the 8R framework of responsible land management aims at evaluating individual land management projects or interventions. This 8R framework is, however, still under development and needs testing, validation and further detailing, such that specific operational characteristics and internal and external effects can be included in the evaluation. This article addresses this need by demonstrating how the 8R framework could improve when knowing both the operational details and external effects of a land management intervention. By reviewing the documented implementation strategies and effects of eight different types of land reclamation cases in Indonesia, the article derives adaptations and extensions of the 8R framework assessment, such that the framework can better detect whether a specific project is sufficiently responsible in any of the 8R aspects. The induction shows that the number of types of systematic prompts needs to be extended and further detailed if it aims to capture and detect specific problems of structures, processes and impacts. Zooming in to documented reclamation projects in Indonesia shows that there are various types of such projects, which are oftentimes contested, yet each requires integrated land management and development strategies. Furthermore, they draw on dissimilar, mostly contextual, justifications and legal frameworks, which makes it difficult to compare the generic relevancy and sustainability of reclamation as a land management intervention tool. Nevertheless, testing the 8R framework for reclamation cases in Indonesia can improve its methodology and extent or specify the use of the systematic prompts designed to qualify and quantify the respective aspects.