Mangiwa, Lina, Saputra, Irfan, Sirimorok, Nurhady, Malamassam, Daud, Santika, Truly ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3125-9467 and Sahide, Muhammad Alif K. (2026) The making of triple frontier in mineral extraction, conservation, and agrarian livelihoods. Geoforum. ISSN 0016-7185 (Print), 1872-9398 (Online) (In Press)

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Abstract

The historical trajectory of resource control in tropical regions, from colonial to postcolonial periods, reveals persistent patterns of dispossession, environmental degradation, and social resistance. These dynamics are often intensified through ‘frontier territorialisation cycles’, which exacerbate land conflicts and socio-ecological pressures. Within this context, ‘double frontier’ describes sites where extractive and conservation regimes intersect, while ‘triple frontier’ capture overlapping extractive, conservation, and agrarian logics. Despite their significance, these frameworks remain underexplored, particularly regarding historical processes that shape contemporary landscapes. This study examines frontier-making through smallholder pepper cultivation within Indonesia’s largest multinational nickel mining concession in protected forest landscapes of Sulawesi. Using a mixed-methods approach, including spatial analysis, document review, in-depth interviews, and field observations, we trace territorial transformations over the past century. We show how frontiers have evolved and intensified through changing regulations, and shifting and growing market demand. Historical inequalities in access to concession lands and protected forests have intensified pressure on pepper smallholders, who respond to a tightening land squeeze through adaptive strategies while navigating legal ambiguities. The interaction of these processes produces a triple frontier, where the three domains converge and collide. The study highlights how historical legacies shape tropical landscapes, exposing the precarity of formal tenure systems, the resilience of smallholders under structural constraints, and the enduring influence of extractive and neoliberal conservation logics. We argue that equitable policy frameworks are critical for enhancing socio-ecological resilience and underscore the importance of integrating historical patterns with contemporary processes in the study and management of tropical resource frontiers.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	We thank the National Research and Innovation Agency of Indonesia (BRIN) for permission to undertake this research (768/SIP/IV/FR/10/2024 and 800/KE.01/SK/09/2024). The research is partially supported by the UKRI Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) (Grant ES/X00631X/1) and the British Academy’s International Interdisciplinary Research Projects (KF26\100721). The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the funders. The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, preparation of the manuscript, or interpretation of the findings.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	double exception, frontier territorialisation, Indonesia, land conflicts, land use policy, nickel mining, pepper, Sulawesi, triple exception, tropical landscape
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor Q Science > Q Science (General) S Agriculture > S Agriculture (General)
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Engineering & Science Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute > Centre for Sustainable Agriculture 4 One Health Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute > Centre for Sustainable Agriculture 4 One Health > Ecosystems Services
Last Modified:	23 Sep 2026 15:38
URI:	https://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/54430

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