Land (May 2023)

Regional Development, Rural Transformation, and Land Use/Cover Changes in a Fast-Growing Oil Palm Region: The Case of Jambi Province, Indonesia

  • Ernan Rustiadi,
  • Andrea Emma Pravitasari,
  • Rista Ardy Priatama,
  • Jane Singer,
  • Junaidi Junaidi,
  • Zulgani Zulgani,
  • Rizqi Ianatus Sholihah

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/land12051059
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 5
p. 1059

Abstract

Read online

The development policies implemented in Jambi Province, Indonesia, since the New Order era, have encouraged transformations in demography, regional paradigms, growth base sectors, and growth actors. This study aims to understand how the central government’s demographic policies and plantation development program have impacted regional land cover change, rural development transformation, and economic development in Sumatra Island’s biodiversity-rich rainforest region (Jambi Province). This study explores the shifts in village typology that have occurred. Descriptive analysis and cluster analysis were applied to collect data at the provincial level that included population, poverty rate, levels of education, HDI, GRDP, Gini index, and land cover. Village Potential Data at the village level was then used to build an infrastructure index and a diversity of activities index. The results of this study indicated that macro development indicators are in a positive trend: HDI, educational levels, GRDP per capita, and the proportion of the tertiary sector in GRDP have all increased. The growth of the tertiary sector was largely driven by the trade and motorized-vehicle repair sectors. The provincial landscape has changed significantly due to the expansion of oil palm plantations. At the village level, the infrastructure index and diversity index show an increase in the number of facilities and variations in economic activity in most villages. Some shifts in rural typology are highlighted: the increase in urban villages and in villages that specialize in oil palm plantation or other industrial plantation crops.

Keywords