Identification of the Key Actors in the Conservation of Amorphophallus gigas in North Sumatra using MACTOR's Method

Indonesia’s tropical forests support high plant diversity, but rising commodity demand can intensify extraction and increase the risk of extinction. In North Sumatra, Amorphophallus gigas grows in community agroforestry understorey, yet higher tuber demand since early 2019 has expanded harvesting and trade from local collectors to export markets. These pressures pose threats to the species and urgently require the identification of key actors essential to coordinating governance over harvesting and habitat management. This study conducted a prospective, qualitative-quantitative analysis through in-depth interviews with farmers, village authorities, collectors, government agencies, academics, NGOs, industry, and exporters. The Matrix of Alliances and Conflicts: Tactics, Objectives, and Recommendations (MACTOR) method was applied to assess actor influence and dependence and to map convergence and divergence across three objectives: conservation, agroforestry habitat protection, and cultivation for income. The Biological Natural Resources Conservation Center (BNRCC) emerged as the most influential and least dependent actor, whereas farmers were highly dependent despite managing most of the habitat on private land. Protection was the most mobilizing objective but showed significant disagreement, indicating unresolved trade-offs between protection and cultivation of A. gigas. The findings also supported other measures of good governance, including providing incentives and capacity for farmers, defining rules for harvesting, and creating positive synergies between ex situ conservation and viable agricultural practices.

Text 126368.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial. Download (1MB) Official URL or Download Paper: https://sylvalestari.fp.unila.ac.id/index.php/JHT/...

Actions (login required)

View Item