Scaling the environmental commons: Broadening our frame of reference for transboundary governance in Southeast Asia

The transboundary environmental commons in Southeast Asia are normally conceived in terms of shared resources and environmental impacts that transcend national borders. The Mekong's ‘fugitive resources’ of water, fish and sediment and the issue of Indonesia's smoke haze drift into Malaysia and Singapore dominate discussion. Assumed national interests shape actors and institutional arrangements for transboundary commons governance. Failure to address the governance challenges is explained in terms of their politico‐cultural failings (e.g. the ‘ASEAN Way’ of non‐interference), the weak regulatory remit of agencies with a specific transboundary governance role (Mekong River Commission), the dominant developmental agenda of subregional cooperative arrangements (Greater Mekong Subregion) or the geopolitical dominance of China (Lancang–Mekong Cooperation). This article builds on these critiques by considering the relationship between the local commons impacted by transboundary projects and the framing of the commons at an inter‐governmental level. It shows that neglect of the local commons and the impacts on them of projects with transboundary effects is partly to be explained by the institutional scaling of the transboundary commons at a country‐to‐country level. It also argues for an expanded notion of transboundary, including investment and governance flows as well as the material environmental footprint of large‐scale investments.     

Regional autonomy and local resource management in Indonesia

Abstract: As the largest archipelagic nation in the world, with distinctive environmental conditions and biodiversity, Indonesia on the one hand has tremendous natural and environmental riches while on the other hand faces a variety of environmental problems. After three decades of the New Order era, 1967–1998, Indonesian society is in a crucial transformation process towards a more democratic era. At the same time, as indicated in that country's decentralisation laws No. 22/99 and 25/99, Indonesia is also shifting its style of government, from a centralistic to decentralised one. These two trends are happening simultaneously with globalisation prompting a flow of global capital that directly increases pressure on the Indonesian environment. This paper evaluates the decentralisation of environmental management programmes in Indonesia and focuses on the implications of these changes. The weaknesses of current environmental policies and programmes in Indonesia, which give too dominant a role to the government and neglect civil society's involvement in natural resources and environmental management, are analysed. Further, the paper addresses the lack of attention to date to issues of environmental rights and justice that create many complex environmental and social conflicts throughout Indonesia. We conclude by recommending some fundamental changes to environmental policies and programmes in the decentralised system.     

Infrastructure and politics: Why the Belt and Road Initiative proceeded differently in Malaysia and Indonesia

The article seeks to understand the different types and sources of politicisation as well as the consequences for Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure projects. It is argued that while the personalised insulated type of foreign policymaking is conducive to intra-system politicisation, the institutionalised responsive type is associated with extra-system politicisation. While the former type is contingent on political turnovers and brings about abrupt shocks, the latter oftentimes generates societal pushback from socio-economic groups. The article focuses on two flagship Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure projects in Malaysia and Indonesia. Based on fieldwork interviews and process tracing, the article finds that the East Coast Rail Link project in Malaysia has suffered from high risk of political interruption owing to Malaysia's personalised insulated type of foreign policymaking, whereas the Jakarta–Bandung High Speed Rail project in Indonesia has encountered sustained obstacles from Indonesian society and brought about substantial delays under Indonesia's institutionalised responsive type.     

The untold flavour of street food: Social infrastructure as a means of everyday politics for street vendors in Bandung,Indonesia

The existing literature on street vendors has largely examined processes of marginalisation of informal enterprises amid rapid urban development. At the same time, the resistance methods of street vendors against the constraints of urban development have been extensively explored. However, these studies tend to focus on the binary position between informal and formal, as well as on the overt confrontation and conflicts between vendors and the state, which risks simplifying the heterogeneity of interests in the everyday practice of street vending. Delving into the daily work of street vendors in Bandung city, this article explores the everyday practice of traders in order to identify their subtle forms of resistance to removal and to the negative perceptions attached to them. By adopting the analytics of ‘people as infrastructure’ (Simone, 2004) and the idea of ‘building blocks of success’ for small enterprises (Turner, 2003), this article argues that social infrastructure is constituted and practiced through the construction of personal relationships and varied forms of informal economic exchange between vendors and their customers, informal organisers and neighbours, as well as through the adoption of new technology. Social infrastructures have become a means of building everyday politics for street vendors and a vital way of challenging the negative perception attached to street vending activities.     

The 2004 elections in Indonesia: Political reform and democratisation

Abstract: The 2004 elections in Indonesia were incredibly complex logistically, resulted in reshaped representative institutions, and allowed presidential elections by direct vote for the first time. This paper analyses the reform processes that surrounded these elections, including reforms to the representative institutions, and the legislative and presidential elections. The different strategies of the main political personalities are analysed, and the results of the legislative elections, and both the first and second presidential election rounds, are evaluated. The paper demonstrates that the elections hold several important messages for Indonesian politicians regarding electoral expectations, and how these are changing rapidly in the post‐Suharto era. Accountability, good governance and social development are among the key factors that are seen to have been important in swaying political votes, rather than traditional voting loyalties.     

Slashing and burning: developmental transformations of population-environment relationships in Indonesia

There is growing concern that rapid development may be doing irreparable harm to life support systems and the environment throughout much of the Asia Pacific region. This paper briefly examines how the development policies of the New Order government of Indonesia have transformed the way the country exploits and manages its environmental resources.     

Media in Indonesia: Forum for political change and critical assessment

Abstract: This paper reviews the struggle for freedom of the press in Indonesia from the colonial period until 2006. First, the paper examines press initiatives and restraints placed on these during the colonial period, followed by those during the period of Sukarno. Then, the paper questions Suharto's efforts to censor the press during his presidency drawing on the author's personal experiences working as a journalist in Jakarta during this period. More recent governmental changes are then analysed with regards to the press and questions raised regarding how far this emancipation has enabled journalists and the mass media – especially the popular press – to live up to what some argue is their responsibility, to serve as a forum for political change and critical assessment. The paper questions if newspapers in Indonesia have been successful in reaching in practice, their mottos of implementing press freedom, and it debates whether announcing that one is ‘working on the people's behalf’ is the same as maintaining ‘press freedom’. I conclude with case studies that raise questions regarding whether, in the present political climate, a newspaper can really be free from government interference in Indonesia.     

Business networks,social capital and the economic performance of creative and cultural industries: The case of Indonesia

This study examines the ways in which networking characteristics and practices influence the economic performance of creative and cultural industries. The notion of social capital is used to conceptualise the complex nature of networks, including both professional and social relationships that occur on multiple levels. This qualitative study is set in the context of Indonesia, in which two cases are examined: creative apparel entrepreneurs in Bandung and batik producers in Surakarta. The results show that regional environments provide opportunities for creative industries to find specialist suppliers, to gather market information and, importantly, to find and cross‐fertilise new ideas. Although regions provide these opportunities, the firms’ internal social capital is crucial in being able to internalise and transform the knowledge from the environment into innovative values embodied in their products.     

Transport and the rural economy: Institutions and institutional change in Ambeso Village,Indonesia

This paper is concerned with the interaction between transport improvements and the rural economy. An institutional approach, based primarily on the new institutionalism theory, was used as the theoretical basis for the analysis. Using the evidence from Ambeso Village of Tana Toraja District, Indonesia, the paper examines the way transport improvements have been introduced and provided opportunities for positive change as well as individual responses to these opportunities. The paper ends by emphasising the role of institutions in the interaction between transport and the rural economy and the need for transport policy and research to transcend its traditional boundaries and address the complexities of institutions and institutional change.     

Migrant labour and the politics of scale: gendering the Philippine state

The purpose of this paper is to situate the study of international labour migration, and especially the policies of labour export, within a gendered geopolitical framework. In so doing I open avenues of inquiry into the complexities of political ideologies that guide state apparatuses. Specifically, I examine how the Philippine state negotiates and operates within contradictory capitalist spaces through discourses of scale. Spatial scales are politically and socially constructed to legitimise power relations and to justify particular policies and programmes. In its support of capital accumulation, the Philippine state tends to adopt a discourse of globalisation; when confronted with charges of migrant exploitation, the Philippine state couples a discourse of the global with a discourse of the body. This corporeal discourse attempts to deflect attention and criticism away from the state, thereby maintaining its political hegemony.     

中国-印尼玉米产业科技合作进展及展望

为了提升印度尼西亚国家玉米产业发展水平,服务国家“一带一路”、“科技服务外交”等国家战略,执行国家科技部对发展中国家科技援助项目,山东省农业科学院玉米研究所开展了印尼本土化玉米育种、新品种与新技术集成和玉米产业科技园区建设等项目内容。利用黄淮海优异种质与印尼富含热带资源种质组配了育种基础材料,育成的10份玉米优异杂交组合正在参加印尼国家玉米品种审定试验;实现了山东省第一次境外农业技术培训班和玉米现场观摩活动,高产栽培技术集成创造了印尼雨季玉米13.70 t/hm²的高产纪录;建成的50 hm²中国-印尼玉米产业科技园区,正在为印尼玉米产业的快速发展发挥重要作用。通过科企合作模式,发挥国内农业企业优势,将中国的玉米新品种、新技术引进到印度尼西亚,将会加速印尼玉米产业发展水平,为国家科技外交和“一带一路”战略服务。     

Stability of male-sterile sources and fertility restoration of their hybrids in pearl millet

Genetic background has a significant effect on the expression of cytoplasmic-nuclear male sterility (CMS) in pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.). Therefore, a reliable characterization of CMS sources requires the use of near-isonuclear lines and their hybrids. We used this approach to characterize five CMS sources (A₁, A₂, A₃, A_v, and A₄). Male sterility of 81A₄ was the most stable, followed by 81A₁ and 81A_v, indicating the relative merits of these CMS sources in breeding stable male-sterile lines. Male-sterile lines 81A₂ and 81A₃ were highly unstable, indicating their minimal value. Differential male fertility restoration patterns of hybrids made on 81A_V and 81A₄ suggest that the A_v and A₄ cytoplasms represent CMS systems that are different from each other and from A₁, A₂ and A₃. An evaluation of topcross hybrids of 15 diverse populations made on 81A₁ and 81A₄ showed that each population had restorers and maintainers of both cytoplasms and that the frequency of maintainers of A₄ was as high as, or higher than, that of the A₁ cytoplasm. Thus, use of the A₄ cytoplasm can substantially increase the probability of breeding stable male-sterile lines based on inbreds developed from diverse genetic backgrounds, and also provide the opportunity for breeding restorers from each of these diverse genetic sources.     

Contentious space and scale politics: Planning for intercity railway in China's mega‐city regions

Over the past three decades, we have seen a flourishing of scholarship which explores the emerging political spaces and variegated scales of governance in China. This research draws on political economic tradition to argue that the way in which cities and regions are governed is indeed infused with socio‐political struggles which are proliferating at a range of spatial scales. Such theoretical interpretation is illuminating, but it has been subject to increasing criticism from the poststructuralist approach that views scale as an epistemological construct. This paper uses the Pearl River Delta Intercity Railway System (PRD‐ICRS) as a case study to challenge the onesidedness of both the political economy tradition and the poststructuralist approach in reading scale. It employs the “scale politics” thesis to argue that scale is more than a material existence (or institutionalised structure) that represents a particular arrangement of political power, being subject to perpetual transformation through regulatory projects and strategies. It is also a “representation trope” deployed in political discourses to acquire persuasive power to frame and legitimise these projects and strategies. Scale is thus both material and discursive. Understanding the two moments of scale enables a fuller dissection of political transformation.     

Inheritance and allelic relationships of fertility restoration genes for seven new sources of male-sterile cytoplasm in sunflower

The inheritance of fertility restoration of six mitomycin C and streptomycin‐induced cytoplasmic male‐sterile (cms) mutants and one cms line derived from Native American cultivar PI 432513 in sunflower was evaluated. These seven new cms sources were also compared with the commercially used cms PET1 (Helianthus petiolaris Nutt.) cytoplasm, using USDA inbred lines with restoration genes (Rf₁) specific for cms PET1 and new restoration lines identified for cms PI 432513. Restoration genes for cms PI 432513 were found in ‘Armavir’, VNIIMK, P21 and male‐fertile (MF) plants of PI 432513. F₂ and F₃ segregation ratios of crosses between cms PI 432513 and these restoration sources indicated a single dominant gene controlled fertility restoration. Progenies of cms PI 432513 testcrossed with F₁’s of half‐diallel crosses among the respective four homozygous restoration lines and RHA 274 suggested that the restoration genes of RHA 274, VNIIMK, P21 and PI 432513 were at the same locus. Restoration genes from VNIIMK, P21 and PI 432513 satisfactorily restored pollen stainability in the heterozygous condition. A very weak expression of the Rf gene in ‘Armavir’ was observed in the heterozygous condition. Fertility restoration capability of these genes for the six mutant cms HA 89 and cms HA 89 (in PET1 cytoplasm) was observed. The mutant cms HA 89 lines were also restored completely by RHA 266, RHA 274, RHA 280 and RHA 296, and F₂’s segregation ratios indicated single dominant gene control, implying a common cytoplasmic male sterility in all lines. F₁’s of half‐diallel crosses among RHA 266, RHA 273, RHA 274, RHA 280 and RHA 296 were testcrossed onto the cms lines, and their all MF progenies among lines, except RHA 280, confirmed that fertility restoration was controlled by a single Rf₁ gene locus. The restoration gene in confection line RHA 280, namely Rf₃, was at a different locus than Rf₁ and was equally capable of restoring all the cms lines. Cms HA 89 mutants and cms PI 432513 are in H. annuus cytoplasm, and are agronomically equal in hybrid performance to the cms PET1 used in commercial sunflower hybrids. These new cms lines will provide immediate alternative cms sources for reducing the genetic vulnerability resulting from the exclusive use of the single cms source PET1 in sunflower hybrid production.     

Cytoplasmic male sterility in barley. III. Maintenance of sterility and restoration of fertility in the msml cytoplasm

Summary 58 varieties, strains or mutants of barley were tested in the msml cytoplasm in Finland, location ca. 61 N. Three (5%) were found to be partial restorers, the rest being maintainers of sterility. 31 Israeli strains of wild barley (ssp. spontaneum) were tested. About one third were maintainers of sterility, the majority partial restorers, and two strains were full restorers. There is probably polymorphism of the restorer gene in Israeli wild barley. Partial restoration displays an environmental response. The physiology of partial restoration is discussed.     

Moricandia arvensis cytoplasm based system of cytoplasmic male sterility in Brassica juncea: Reappraisal of fertility restoration and agronomic potential

Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) system based on the cytoplasm from Moricandia arvensis (mori) was investigated for fertility restoration and agronomic potential. Fertility restorer gene for mori CMS was introgressed from cytoplasm donor species as all the evaluated Brassica juncea genotypes (155) acted as sterility maintainers. The allosyndetic pairing between M^a and the A/B genome chromosomes in the monosomic addition plants (2n= 18II + 1M^a) facilitated the gene introgression. Partial fertility restoration (43–52% pollen grain stainability) in F₁ hybrids and absence of segregation for male sterility in F₂ progenies suggested gametophytic control of fertility restoration. The pollen fertility in the F₁ hybrids was, however, sufficient to ensure complete seed set upon bag selfing. Introgression from M. arvensis also helped in correction of chlorosis associated with mori cytoplasm in CMS and fertile alloplasmic B. juncea plants. Yield evaluation of thirty F₁ hybrids having the same nuclear genotype but varied male sterilizing cytoplasms (mori, oxy, lyr, refined ogu), in comparison to respective euplasmic hand bred control hybrids, allowed an estimate of yield penalty associated with different CMS systems. It ranged from 1.8% to 61.6%. Hybrids based on cytoplasmically refined ogu were most productive followed by those based on cytoplasmically refined mori CMS. The male sterility systems emanating from somatic hybridization were found superior than those developed from sexual hybridization.     

Female transnational migration,religion and subjectivity: The case of Indonesian domestic workers

Drawing on an analysis of in‐depth interviews with returned migrant women from East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, this paper considers the links between migration, religious beliefs and subjectivity. Low‐skilled migrant women, including domestic workers, have often been represented as marginalised. This paper argues that in the context of migration, women constantly move through trajectories of power using religion as a spiritual resource. Against the commonly patriarchal characteristics of their religion and community, the women employ cognitive strategies to face challenges in migration. In each stage of their transnational migration, the women's experiences reveal the multitude of ways in which they continue to invest in their beliefs through everyday practices, rituals and networking. These experiences highlight the women's strategies in accessing different forms of power. This study demonstrates the significance of focusing on these women's experiences, including their everyday religious practices and their shifting sense of self, as a way of broadening the conceptual basis of our understanding of female migration.     

Frequency and fertility restoration efficiency of Rf3 and Rf4 genes in Indian rice

Identification of new parental lines is crucial for developing ecology‐specific hybrids with ideal agronomic performance. We screened a total of 570 different ecology‐specific Indian rice varieties for the presence of fertility restorer genes, Rf3 and Rf4 using tightly linked markers DRRM Rf3‐10 and RM6100, respectively. Among these varieties, 13% carried Rf3Rf3/Rf4Rf4, 31% carried rf3rf3/rf4rf4, 6% carried Rf3Rf3/rf4rf4 and remaining 50% carried Rf4Rf4/rf3rf3 allelic combinations. A mini set of 40 varieties with variable allelic combinations of fertility restorer genes were testcrossed with WA and Kalinga‐based CMS lines. All the 80 F₁s were evaluated for spikelet fertility and fertility restoration ability. Rf3Rf3/rf4rf4 genotypes mostly behaved as partial maintainers or partial restorers. In contrast, rf3rf3/Rf4Rf4 genotypes were partial or effective restorers. However, double dominant genotypes showed better fertility restoration than the genotypes containing Rf3 or Rf4 individually. Some of the genotypes showed unexpected restoration pattern implying occurrence of other fertility restorer(s) apart from Rf3 and Rf4. The perfect restorers and maintainers identified in this study can be directly used in hybrid rice breeding.     

黄土沟壑区植被恢复中土壤生物学特性的响应及其评价

摘要：了解不同植被恢复类型对土壤生物学特性的影响。以农地为对照,该研究通过对侧柏天然次生林、不同林龄（5,20,30年）刺槐人工林、荆条灌丛和苜蓿草地6种不同植被恢复类型土壤生物学特性的探索研究。结果表明,与对照相比,不同的植被恢复类型土壤生物学特性均有明显增强,土壤微生物量及土壤酶活性显著提高。采用土壤微生物量碳、氮、磷和尿酶、碱性磷酸酶、过氧化氢酶、蔗糖酶7项指标计算该区域土壤生物学特性,进行土壤生物学特性等量评价。不同植被恢复模式土壤生物学特性的大小顺序为：30年刺槐、20年刺槐、侧柏、荆条、5年刺槐、苜蓿、农地。该区采用刺槐恢复模式效果较优于苜蓿及荆条、侧柏模式。     

Identification of stable restorers and genetics of fertility restoration in late‐maturing pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millspaugh]

A total of sixty‐six germplasm lines were crossed with five CMS lines, where two belong to A₄ cytoplasm, while other three belong to A₂ cytoplasm. On the basis of pollen fertility test as well as good pod setting, of 330 hybrids, 34 restorer lines were observed in ICPA 2043 and 19 in ICPA 2092. Thirteen germplasm lines restored fertility in both the A₄ CMS lines, viz. ICPA 2043 and ICPA 2092; however, none of the lines restored fertility in A₂ CMS lines. For confirmation of result, restoration competence of identified lines tested subsequently 2 years at two different temperatures. The segregation patterns for fertility restoration studied in F₂ and BC₁F₁ generations of selected ten crosses. Six crosses indicated the involvement of two major genes with recessive epistasis, three crosses confirmed dominant epistasis, and one cross indicated the involvement of duplicate recessive epistasis. The obtained results from this study will hasten the future three‐line breeding programme and lead the hybrid technology to the farmers' field with the better exploitation of CMS lines.