Paper short abstract:

This research project focuses on the environmental impact on the livelihoods of FELDA villagers in contemporary peri-urban and regional Malaysia. In doing so, it critically analyses FELDA's response, as a state-run organization, towards addressing the environmental concerns of the community.

Paper long abstract:

This paper examines rural Malaysian communities' understanding of natural assets, via the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF). Drawing on data collected during a 2017 anthropology field school, we focus on villages that were established by the Malaysian Federal Land Development Authority's (FELDA) Settlers Scheme as a strategy to combat rural Malay poverty. The paper documents FELDA villagers' management of environmental issues. Water pollution, waste management, and air pollution were perceived by as the most important environmental concerns, yet their individual and collective capacity to respond to these was constrained, at least in part, by FELDA's top-down management approach. This has impacts on the sustainability of FELDA villagers' farming practices and impacts their ability to overcome external shocks, such as in the case of flooding or landslides. Through observation of the environmental impact on the livelihoods of FELDA villagers, we critically analyse FELDA's role as an organization of the state and its capacity and strategies to overcome existing vulnerabilities to make the livelihoods of FELDA villagers more resilient and sustainable.