Conceptual Analysis of Ecosystem Degradation Caused by Land Use Change in Indonesia: A Sustainability Perspective

Abstract

This study examines ecosystem degradation caused by land use change in Indonesia through a sustainability perspective using a non empirical qualitative approach based on conceptual and integrative literature analysis. The research synthesizes interdisciplinary scholarship concerning ecological transformation, environmental governance, political ecology, and sustainability transition in order to identify the structural relationships shaping ecosystem vulnerability across Indonesian land systems. The findings indicate that ecosystem degradation is not solely driven by physical land conversion but is also deeply connected to governance fragmentation, developmental policy orientation, institutional contradictions, and unequal environmental decision making structures. The analysis further demonstrates that sustainability challenges emerge when ecological protection remains subordinate to extractive economic priorities and short term spatial development agendas. Conceptual synthesis from the reviewed literature reveals that adaptive governance, ecological ethics, indigenous environmental knowledge, restorative land management, and participatory institutional arrangements constitute critical pathways toward ecological resilience and sustainable land governance. The study contributes theoretically by developing an integrative sustainability framework linking ecological resilience, governance transformation, and socioecological justice within rapidly changing land systems in Indonesia.