Jakarta, The PRAKARSA – Wednesday (15/4/2026), The PRAKARSA held a Learning Exchange entitled "Exploring Lessons from Community Initiatives for a Restorative Economy" in Jakarta. This activity provided a space to share lessons learned from the initial findings of The PRAKARSA on restorative economics as well as a multi-stakeholder dialogue forum to map challenges, opportunities, and strategies for strengthening inclusive and sustainable community economic initiatives.
The activity was opened by the Executive Director of The PRAKARSA, Victoria Fanggidae, who emphasized the importance of ensuring that research does not stop as academic findings, but is able to enrich public policy debates.
“Through this discussion, we hope that ongoing research will gain a stronger punch and can bring a restorative economics approach into public policy discussions,” said Victoria Fanggidae, Executive Director of The PRAKARSA.
In the presentation session, representatives of the research team The PRAKARSABintang Aulia Lutfi presented the initial findings of a study entitled "Nature Restoration and Community Well-Being: The Role of Communities and Supporting Ecosystems." This qualitative research was conducted in four locations: Siak Regency (Riau), Sigi Regency (Central Sulawesi), Tamanmartani Village (DI Yogyakarta), and Tampelas Village (Central Kalimantan) to examine how restoration initiatives developed, who the driving forces were, the challenges faced, and their impact on socio-economic well-being and environmental sustainability.
Initial findings suggest that restorative economic practices are more effective when ecological benefits translate into tangible economic value for communities. In various study sites, restoration is not solely an environmental agenda but is linked to livelihoods, such as local commodities and processing, ranging from pineapples and snakehead fish in peatland landscapes, to coffee, cocoa, vanilla, and lemongrass in hilly areas, to organic farming practices at the village level. These lessons confirm that livelihood security remains a primary consideration for communities adopting restorative practices.
Research also highlights that the sustainability of a restorative economy is determined by the existence of an adequate supporting ecosystem. This includes regional regulations, village and customary institutions, the role of civil society organizations, government support, private-sector partnerships, and the hybridization of local knowledge and scientific innovation. Therefore, awareness-based interventions alone are not sufficient; strengthening a restorative economy requires coherent incentives, institutional support, and a long-term adaptive learning process.
After the presentation, the activity continued with a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) facilitated by representatives of the research team. PRAKARSA, Ema Kurnia Aminnisa. Several participants shared their field experiences and policy perspectives, including those from FWI, Yayasan Puter, WALHI, SCOPI, Katadata Green, AMAN, Perkumpulan HuMA, ICEL, LTKL, and CLUA. The discussion emphasized that the challenges of developing a restorative economy lie not only at the grassroots level, such as market access, financing, logistics, post-harvest capacity, and actor regeneration, but also in the legal framework, policy design, and sustainable cross-actor support.
The event concluded with the screening of a 20-minute documentary produced by Bero Setudio, which provides a visual depiction of restorative economic practices in the field. The documentary demonstrates that restorative initiatives emerge from diverse socio-ecological contexts and develop through negotiation, learning, and collaboration between stakeholders.
In closing, the forum emphasized that strengthening a restorative economy requires an integrated, collaborative, and long-term approach. The research findings and knowledge exchange in this Learning Exchange are expected to enrich policy discourse and encourage the development of more inclusive, adaptive development strategies that have a real impact on both society and the environment.
