Identifying suitable land-use diversification levels to reconcile socioeconomic and ecological functions at the farm level – Development of a multi-criteria optimization approach for the Jambi Province in Indonesia

The aim of the research is to develop a farm modelling approach for the Jambi Province in Indonesia using land-use allocation models based on multi-objective (linear) optimization, for different study sites and defined landscapes. It will be based on ecological and socioeconomic functions and services via normalized indicator values for each land-use, cover or management option. These land-use options could include oil palm, rubber plantation or jungle rubber, as well as unmanaged forest or shrubland investigated in the Core Plot Design and the Landscape Assessment. The purpose of the model is to mitigate trade-offs between these ecological and socioeconomic functions under heterogenous and household conditions. Uncertainty in the provision of ecological and socio-economic functions will be considered in the robust solution algorithm through the error of sampling or simulation for each function and land-use option.

Capitalizing on the EFForTS-BEE and OPMX experiment, the special focus of the project will be to analyze which degree of compositional and/or on-plot diversification and intensification is best suited to achieve multiple goals (mimicked by ecological and economic functions), from a private and/or public perspective.