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Abstract

Conservation governance is frequently characterized as a rule-based system in which bureaucratic actors enforce standardized regulations to protect biodiversity. In practice, however, conservation policies are implemented within socially contested landscapes. Strict regulatory enforcement may generate conflict and undermine governance objectives. Although public administration research underscores the importance of bureaucratic discretion in policy implementation, limited attention has been paid to its influence on environmental governance in developing countries. This article investigates discretionary practices in Indonesian conservation area management using an ethnographic approach that incorporates interviews, field observations, and case studies across multiple sites. The findings demonstrate that discretion occupies a central, yet frequently unacknowledged, role in conservation governance and is often reframed through policy narratives such as innovation, partnership, or ecosystem restoration. Discretion is not evenly distributed within the bureaucracy: field-level officials exercise relational discretion to address local community conflicts; regional agencies adopt defensive discretion in response to accountability pressures; and central authorities utilize strategic discretion when enforcement intersects with political or economic interests. These findings suggest that discretionary practices enable conservation institutions to adapt rigid regulations to the realities of practical governance. By analyzing how discretion is shielded, stratified, and enabled, this study contributes to ongoing debates on environmental governance and policy implementation in the Global South.

Pages

69-93

DOI

10.65844/2442-9899.1262

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