Environmental Challenges in Peatlands: Insights into Smallholder Oil Palm Farmers’ Attitudes in Muko-Muko, Indonesia

The conversion of peatlands into oil palm plantations through drainage has caused severe environmental degradation, creating significant challenges for smallholder oil palm farmers. These ecological pressures underscore the need to understand farmers' attitudes as a key element in developing sustainable peatland management strategies. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the factors shaping farmers' attitudes toward environmental challenges in oil palm cultivation on peatlands. Data were collected through face-to-face surveys with 288 farmers in Muko-Muko Regency, Bengkulu, in December 2024 using convenience sampling. Furthermore, data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The findings show that awareness and understanding (AU), policy and institutional support (PIS), economic considerations (EC), and personal experience, values, social, and cultural factors (PEV) significantly shape farmers' positive attitudes toward environmental challenges. This study showed that farmers' attitudes are best understood through a multidimensional framework integrating environmental cognition, policy structures, economic logic, and socio-cultural dynamics. Furthermore, AU moderates the effect of PIS, suggesting that policies are most effective when combined with enhanced awareness. The study highlights that fostering sustainable peatland management through changes in farmers' attitudes requires integrated policies, economic incentives, and community-based approaches, reinforced by continuous education and training to strengthen farmers' environmental awareness.