The Roles of Legitimacy in Environmental Conflict: An Indonesian Case Study

Legitimacy is central to conflicts between environmental nongovernment organizations (ENGOs) and natural resource extraction companies. This process ranges from differing interpretations of legitimacy regarding the utilization of natural resources and its development through adapting the practices to meet society's expectations and norms, to its portrayal and finally being granted the stakeholders' seal of legitimacy. This article analyses an example of this conflict by exploring the legitimacy of the positions of a pulp and paper company and ENGOs opposing its operating practices. The article is based on an analysis of the actions of both sets of organizations, through interviews and a review of their documents. The results show differing roles that legitimacy plays in environmental conflict and how these roles make the conflict increasingly complex, making resolution harder. This underlines the need for tools to facilitate resolution, including one that would provide a clearer perspective and clarify the different stakeholders' claims of legitimacy.