ABSTRACT

The growing demand for natural rubber is increasingly threatening biodiversity and forest ecosystems. Recently, the French Michelin Group started a cooperation with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to establish environmentally and socially sustainable ‘model’ rubber plantations in Sumatra and Kalimantan, Indonesia. The framing of Michelin’s tyre production as ‘eco-friendly’ and their purported ‘sustainable’ rubber cultivation contradict with statements by villagers living around Michelin’s plantation in Jambi Province, Sumatra, who are reporting environmental destruction and land tenure conflicts. Conceptually, we build on political ecology and critical human geography perspectives to identify conflicts and ambiguities related to sustainability claims, deforestation and dispossession. Empirically, we draw on qualitative research in a village affected by the plantation. We confront and deconstruct the discursive framing of sustainable rubber production with our empirical findings. We show how the plantation restricts access to land and instead of providing additional income, is actually limiting development opportunities.

摘要

对天然橡胶的需求不断增长，正日益威胁着生物多样性和森林生态系统。最近，法国米其林集团开始与世界自然基金会（WWF）合作，在印度尼西亚苏门答腊和加里曼丹建立环境和社会可持续的“示范”橡胶种植园。米其林将轮胎生产定为“生态友好型”，并声称其“可持续”橡胶种植与居住在苏门答腊詹比省米其林种植园附近的村民的说法相矛盾，后者报道了环境破坏和土地使用权冲突。从概念上讲，我们建立在政治生态学和重要的人文地理学观点的基础上，以识别与可持续性主张，森林砍伐和处置相关的冲突和歧义。根据经验，我们在一个受到人工林影响的村庄中进行定性研究。我们用经验发现来面对和解构可持续橡胶生产的话语框架。我们展示了种植园如何限制土地使用，而不是提供额外的收入，实际上是在限制发展机会。