Earth System Governance in Indonesia: An Initial Investigation

Abstract

Despite a growing scholarly interest internationally in the notion of earth system governance (ESG), the state-of-the-art of how the notion interacts in and with Indonesian academia has not been reviewed. The ESG notion is a paradigm that warrants the broader context of the Anthropocene and human-induced transformations of the entire earth system. Considering that Indonesia is one of the most important scholarly and empirical sites of investigation in Asia-Pacific, understanding the existing development of environmental governance with ESG can inform the corpus theory of sustainable futures. What does the notion mean in Indonesian academia? Which fields, disciplines, and networks have engaged with the notion? What are the alternative practices and directions of ESG emerging from and within the Indonesian academia? The chapter aims to offer an initial investigation by conducting a literature review with the following objectives: (1) to trace and evaluate the intellectual progression of the field of ESG from and within Indonesian academia, (2) to contextualize the theory and framework of ESG in the context of Indonesian academia, and (3) to identify gaps and offer reflections for future research. The chapter will review academic literature from the international database of Scopus and the Indonesian recognized national database of Garuda of the conceptual debates and discussion of ESG in the context of Indonesia. The chapter ultimately provides a summary, synthesis, and critical evaluation of the current body of knowledge about the ESG, within the broader context of environmental governance, in Indonesian academia and suggests future research.