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In this podcast, the IOWC interviews Professor Jenny Goldstein of Cornell University on her research into Indonesia’s peat lands. Her interview offers a discussion of her unique journey from architecture to geography, and an in-depth explanation of how the Indonesian peat lands became her subject of study. She further explores the value of so-called degraded lands from a biodiversity and regenerative standpoint, exploring diverse techniques of rice growth in Peatland environments. Moreover, Professor Goldstein offers a nuanced understanding of how the development of oil palm plantations on Indonesia’s peat lands has had multiple effects, including production of divergent scientific knowledge on whether oil palm plantations across Indonesia’s peat lands lead to more carbon emissions or not, how these debates shape legislations concerning agriculture and forests in Indonesia, and what could be the climatic impact of such policies eventually.
Relevant Links:
- University bio: https://cals.cornell.edu/jenny-elaine-goldstein
- Online piece about the Mega Rice Project: http://www.environmentandsociety.org/arcadia/carbon-bomb-indonesias-failed-mega-rice-project
Links to relevant publications:
- Jenny E. Goldstein, ‘The Volumetric Political Forest: Territory, Satellite Fire Mapping, and Indonesia’s Burning Peatland,’ Antipode, 52, 4 (2020).
- Jenny E. Goldstein et al., ‘Beyond slash‐and‐burn: The roles of human activities, altered hydrology and fuels in peat fires in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia,’ Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, 41, 2 (2020)
- Jenny E. Goldstein, ‘Knowing the subterranean: Land grabbing, oil palm, and divergent expertise in Indonesia’s peat soil,’ Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 48, 4 (2016).
Image from Wikipedia Commons via NASA
This podcast was produced with the help of Renée Manderville (Project Manager, IOWC), Archisman Chaudhuri and Philip Gooding (both postdoctoral fellows, IOWC, McGill).