Methodology

A mixed methods approach was used in this study. This allowed biophysical quantitative and socio-cultural and economic qualitative data to be integrated, and associations between data to be analysed (Johnson and Onwuegbuzie 2004, Sumner and Tribe 2008). An integrated understanding of the social, ecological, political, and economic processes within the SESs was required to understand how incentive-based institutions governed ecosystem services and the dynamic changes within them. The interdisciplinary nature of the research draws on the empiricist approaches of natural science. This thesis therefore takes a critical realist ontological perspective. The objective social reality of these environmental behaviours, while assumed to exist externally to human beings, can only be known imperfectly (Piergiorgio 2003). The integration of a pluralistic methodological approach enabled the acknowledgement of these perceptions and their influence on personal beliefs, and therefore behaviours. This approach provided a more holistic understanding of the issues surrounding incentive-based institutions in both Lombok and Alta Floresta.

The use of mixed methods also enabled data to be collected concurrently. This strategy allowed different question types to be employed (closed and open), data to be validated through triangulation, and the comparison of data through transformation (Driscoll et al. 2007). Spatial analysis of satellite images and environmental datasets also allowed patterns of land use to be mapped and quantified under different institutional governance structures. This approach is useful to understand the scope and scale of ecosystems, how their services may be valued by landowners, and how management approaches are implemented (Nelson et al. 2009). Spatial analysis highlighted synergies and trade-offs between multiple ecosystem services, conservation policies, and economic and socio-cultural values of the land (Berry et al. 2005). This method was predominantly used in Chapter 6 to examine the impact of changes in ecosystem management requirements on land-use decisions and the provision of water and forest ecosystem services; and, in Chapter 1, to determine water access and resource availability for rural households across Lombok, and the implications of this availability for each household.

For socio-economic data collected within Lombok (Chapters 3 to 5), a combination of questionnaire-based interviews, rapid rural appraisal (RRA) and participatory rural appraisal (PRA) techniques were employed. Consequently, data on socio-economic status, economic use of natural resources, and perceived values of the environment

these PRA and RRA principles enabled greater participation from, and interaction with, communities involved in the study (Chambers 1994b). This approach also allowed for a deeper understanding of the complexities of a topic. In particular, the perspectives and motivation for certain behaviours through on-site learning, flexible methods, local participation, and feedback of research findings (Chambers 1994a). The high level of study community involvement allowed a degree of ownership, and also enabled less vocal groups in communities, such as women and the poor, to be acknowledged and to participate.

Central to PRA and RRA are techniques such as semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and participatory mapping (Chambers 1994a, Mukherjee 1997). Homogenous focus groups enabled the relaxed discussion of opinions, understandings and perceptions of concepts, and the social-ecological system. The combination of these methods allowed information to be triangulated and to gain further insights into the topic outside potential restrictions of the questionnaires. There were, however limitations to this methodological approach. Semi-structured questionnaires were built around the interviewer’s perception of the drivers of behaviour, and socio-economic and environmental values within an SES. As such, the data gathered from the study sites should be considered objective (Mukherjee 1997).

A pilot of the questionnaire was useful to reduce the potential bias from outsider perceptions. This was conducted for both the questionnaire and focus groups in Lombok. It identified local perceptions of the topic that may have differed from that of the researcher, and areas of the questionnaire that required clarification for respondents. The pilot aimed to reduce the potential bias arising from outsider perceptions of the drivers and roles of behaviours and values towards the environment. Questions were ordered in a logical manner, related topics grouped together, and general questions directed to precede specific questions (Saunders, Lewis, and Thornhill 2003). Open-ended questions obtained more qualitative data, and structured closed questions generated quantitative data that allowed for numerical analysis of responses.

Triangulation was also used to cross-check answers and reduce some of the bias in responses. There was an assumption that individuals’ responses were truthful. However, outsider behaviour, and answers about controlled and compliant behaviours, may have had significant influence on responses. Rapid appraisal of communities, in particular to understand local perceptions and values, may not always be appropriate to understand long-term social change and underlying cultural norms (Mukherjee 1997).

For the purpose of this thesis, however, this methodology was useful to gain insights of the underlying motivations behind behaviours and values, and access and availability to resources. This is important when dealing with the problematic nature

of PES definitions, the social norms that underpin cultural activities, and the underlying religious sentiment present in most surveyed villages. The highly contextual cultural constructs of values, both real and perceived, were often dependent on the resource and the society in question (Brondízio et al. 2009). For this analysis, a distinction was made between those communities that actively governed through incentive-based institutions, compared to those that governed merely through underlying social norms.