Augmented participatory action research in the digital age: Guidelines for implementation in community-based peatland restoration and sustainable business development

Purnomo H, Puspitaloka D, Juniyanti L, Kusumadewi SD, Andrianto A, Okarda B, Basuki I, Muhammad A, Junandi B, Sutikno S, Kurniawan S, Qomar N, Jalil A, Rohadi D, Zulkardi and Tarsono. 2023. Augmented participatory action research in the digital age: Guidelines for implementation in community-based peatland restoration and sustainable business development. Bogor, Indonesia: CIFOR.

Participatory Action Research (PAR) is a tool for fostering a new paradigm in natural resources management. Combined with an Adaptive Collaborative Management (ACM) approach, in community-based fire prevention and peatland restoration, PAR facilitates transformative change through a simultaneous process of research and taking action, linked together by critical refl ection. Covid-19 led to the transformation of traditional PAR to become a new incarnation aided by internet technology, remote connections and new ways of implementing collaboration. This new incarnation, which we refer to as augmented PAR, consists of a spiral of refl ection and co-elevation, co-creation and planning, connected actions, and monitoring and co-learning phases. External reinforcement can strengthen actions and improve augmented PAR processes. This book, which constitutes part of the Toolbox on Community-based Fire Prevention and Peatland Restoration, presents case studies from Kayu Ara Permai and Penyengat villages in Riau Province, where PAR on community-based fi re prevention and peatland restoration is taking place from 2021 to 2023. We hope it can serve as a reference for actors involved in sustainable peatland management and restoration in reconciling ecological, social and economic objectives.