The Tonasa Formation is one of the most widely distributed rock units in the southern arm of Sulawesi, reaching thicknesses of 1,750 to 3,000 meters. It consists of interbedded limestone and Globigerina marl deposited on a carbonate platform that flourished as the Indo-Australian, Pacific, and Eurasian plates collided, eventually sculpting Sulawesi into its distinctive K-shaped outline. Yet despite its grandeur and its role in creating spectacular karst landscapes, the formation’s stratigraphic record remains incomplete in places. In the Jeneponto area, Oligocene to Early Miocene strata were long considered poorly exposed and poorly known, leaving a gap in scientists’ understanding of how this tropical carbonate platform responded to global climate change roughly 34 million years ago.

To fill that gap, the research team turned to the Karama area, where the formation is beautifully exposed along the coast as alternating beds of limestone and marl. They sampled 23 layers using measured stratigraphy, preparing each sample as a smear slide sealed under a 24 by 24 millimeter cover glass. Under a polarizing microscope at 1,000 times magnification, the fossil content of the rocks came into view: a constellation of coccoliths and related structures produced by nannoplankton, the primary producers of ancient seas. Because these organisms evolved rapidly and were hugely abundant, their first and last appearances in the rock record provide datums, time markers that allow geologists to correlate strata across entire ocean basins with remarkable precision.

The analysis identified 20 species in the Karama A section, including members of the genera Coccolithus, Cyclicargolithus, Reticulofenestra, Dictyococcites, Discoaster, Sphenolithus, and Zygrhablithus, along with the distinctive Braarudosphaera bigelowii. From the vertical distribution of these species, the researchers recognized three key biostratigraphic datums. The first is the First Occurrence of Sphenolithus pseudoradians, which marks the boundary between zones NP19 and NP20 in the standard zonation of Martini from 1971. The second is the First Occurrence of Sphenolithus distentus, corresponding to the CP16/CP17 boundary of Okada and Bukry’s 1980 scheme, equivalent to NP22/NP23, found in layer 12 of the section. The third is the Last Occurrence of Sphenolithus predistentus in layer 18, defining the NP23/NP24 boundary.

Together, these datums establish that the studied part of the Tonasa Formation at Karama A spans the Late Eocene to the Middle Oligocene. That conclusion matters because it means the Eocene/Oligocene boundary itself, the dividing line between the epochs, is captured within this section. This was precisely the interval when Earth’s climate flipped from the Cenozoic’s greenhouse state toward icehouse conditions, as massive ice sheets grew on Antarctica and global temperatures plummeted. Previous work on the Karama area using planktonic foraminifera had identified only a latest Eocene age, so the new nannofossil data extend the known record substantially and help place this section in the middle part of the formation’s regional stratigraphic framework.

The story the fossils tell is not only about time but also about temperature. Calcareous nannoplankton distribution is strongly tied to surface water temperature and nutrient availability, making their assemblages natural thermometers for ancient oceans. Certain genera carry well-established climatic affinities: Discoaster, a lower photic zone dweller, is considered an indicator of warm, oligotrophic waters, as are Sphenolithus and Zygrhablithus bijugatus. Coccolithus pelagicus, by contrast, is a classic cold-water species that becomes rare or absent in low latitudes. The relative abundance of these taxa through the section therefore allows researchers to track how conditions in the basin changed as global climate deteriorated.

In the Karama A section, warm-water indicators such as Discoaster, Sphenolithus, and Zygrhablithus bijugatus are present from the bottom to the top, which the team interprets as evidence that the basin remained in warm-water conditions overall. But the details are revealing. Species diversity and specimen counts tended to decline from the Eocene into the Oligocene, mirroring the long-term global cooling documented in marine and terrestrial records worldwide. Discoaster tanii decreased steadily and disappeared by layer 18, while the numbers of Discoaster and Sphenolithus individuals dropped through the interval. Poor preservation, including diagenetic overgrowth, complicated species identification in places, but the overall pattern of decline is clear.

Intriguingly, the trend did not end in a simple collapse. In the upper part of the Middle Oligocene, the warm-water taxa rebounded, with Discoaster, Sphenolithus, and Zygrhablithus becoming more abundant again, while Cyclicargolithus floridanus and Reticulofenestra bisectus remained abundant and even increased toward the top of the section. The researchers interpret this recovery as evidence that although the carbonate environment stayed fundamentally warm, water temperatures dipped during the Oligocene cooling and then partially recovered. The assemblage changes are gradual rather than a sharp turnover, suggesting the tropical platform experienced the global transition as a gentle but persistent decline in temperature, reducing both diversity and abundance of the most heat-loving species.

The findings also resolve a lingering puzzle in Sulawesi geology. Earlier research had reported that Oligocene strata of the Tonasa Formation in the Jeneponto area were unknown, yet the carbonate succession there was thought to range from the Late Eocene to the Middle Miocene. By demonstrating a Late Eocene to Middle Oligocene age for the Karama A section, the study shows that Oligocene rocks are indeed present and datable in Jeneponto, and it complements previous nannofossil work in the Barru area that yielded a Middle Eocene to Early Miocene age. The result strengthens stratigraphic correlations between the Pangkajene and Jeneponto regions and refines the picture of how the Tonasa Carbonate Platform, whose accommodation space was controlled largely by subsidence, evolved through a time of global climatic upheaval.

More broadly, the study underscores why nannofossils remain among the most powerful tools in carbonate sediment research. These primary producers responded sensitively to the surface water conditions of their time, and their rapid evolutionary turnover allows biostratigraphers to slice the Eocene and Oligocene into fine zones using the standard Martini and Okada and Bukry frameworks. For Indonesia, a nation whose geology was forged by the collision of three major plates, each such study adds a piece to the intricate puzzle of island arc evolution and tropical paleoceanography. For climate scientists, the Karama A section offers another ground-truth record of how marine ecosystems in low-latitude carbonate settings registered the last great transition from greenhouse to icehouse Earth, a transition whose lessons resonate strongly in an era of rapid warming.

Subject of Research: Biostratigraphy and paleoclimate of the Eocene to Oligocene Tonasa Formation in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, based on calcareous nannofossils

Article Title: The Eocene to Oligocene boundary and paleoclimatic indications based on calcareous nannofossils of Tonasa Formation, South Sulawesi, Indonesia

Article References: Farida, M., Jaya, A., Ahmad, A., & Nugraha, J. (2024). The Eocene to Oligocene boundary and paleoclimatic indications based on calcareous nannofossils of Tonasa Formation, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Fossil Record, 27(1), 221-231. https://doi.org/10.3897/fr.27.96985

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/fr.27.96985

Keywords: calcareous nannofossils, Eocene Oligocene boundary, Tonasa Formation, South Sulawesi, biostratigraphy, paleoclimate, Sphenolithus, Discoaster, carbonate platform, Oligocene cooling, Indonesia, stratigraphy

The research, led by Vandalisna of Hasanuddin University and the Gowa Agricultural Development Polytechnic, together with colleagues from institutions in Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, and Sudan, focused on the Salassae Rural Swabina Community, a farmer group widely regarded as a pioneer of organic agriculture in Eastern Indonesia. Since around 2010 and 2011, farmers in the village of Salassae began abandoning chemical inputs in favor of organic methods, and their village has since become a learning center visited by farmers and students from across Indonesia and even other parts of Asia.

To understand why and how this transition succeeded, the team turned to grounded theory research, a qualitative methodology designed to build theory directly from empirical data rather than test pre-existing hypotheses. Between June 2023 and March 2024, the researchers conducted in-depth interviews with 30 participants, including organic farmers, farmer group leaders, field assistants, and community leaders. They then analyzed the transcripts using the Straussian coding procedure, moving through iterative stages of open coding, axial coding, and selective coding, with the help of NVivo 14 software to manage and map the emerging concepts.

The central theoretical category that emerged from this painstaking analysis is what the researchers call socio-ecological rationality. This concept explains how farmers integrate environmental ethics, economic needs, and socio-cultural norms into their agricultural decision-making. In other words, the choice to farm organically was never purely financial. Ecological awareness, relational solidarity, and moral commitment emerged as the main drivers of farmers’ adaptive resilience, allowing them to persist despite real obstacles such as limited market access, certification costs, and weak institutional support. Organic farming, the study concludes, is not only an economic choice but an expression of moral and social values rooted in local culture.

The technical transformation on the ground is striking. Farmers reported selecting seeds more carefully to ensure uniform, healthy growth, cultivating soil without synthetic chemicals, and replacing chemical fertilizers with locally sourced compost and manure tailored to soil conditions. For pest control, they turned to botanical pesticides such as neem leaves and lemongrass, cultivated natural predators like ladybugs and owls, and practiced crop rotation. The researchers emphasize that this is not merely a substitution of inputs but a paradigm shift—from input-intensive to knowledge-intensive, ecology-based farming—consistent with the principles of IFOAM–Organics International and the Food and Agriculture Organization.

The economic numbers are perhaps the most eye-catching part of the story. Production costs for organic farmers ranged from roughly IDR 80,000 to 100,000 per hectare per planting season, compared with IDR 1.5 to 2 million for conventional systems, because compost, manure, and botanical pesticides are produced on-farm at near-zero cost. Organic brown rice sells for up to IDR 25,000 per kilogram and organic white rice for IDR 15,000 to 18,000, while non-organic rice fetches only IDR 9,000 to 12,000. As a result, organic farmers earn between IDR 30 million and 75 million per hectare per season—several times the IDR 9 to 25 million earned by conventional farmers.

Just as significant are the social ripple effects. The interviews revealed a resurgence of gotong royong, the Indonesian tradition of mutual cooperation, with farmers helping each other with seeds, fertilizer, and labor. Experienced farmers now serve as trainers and independent extension workers, and some have been invited to speak as far afield as the Philippines and Vietnam. The community has seen improved family well-being, declining crime rates, and growing motivation among young people to pursue higher education. The authors argue that organic farming here functions as a genuine social movement, marked by collective action, shared ideology, and organized networks linking farmers, NGOs, and institutions.

The environmental evidence, gathered through farmers’ perceptions and community observation rather than laboratory measurement, points in the same direction. Farmers described looser, more fertile soil, vigorous crops, the return of moss to rice fields, fish reappearing in irrigation channels, and improved water and air quality. Pest infestations became rare. These accounts align with broader research showing that organic systems can enhance soil organic carbon, microbial diversity, biodiversity, and long-term ecological efficiency, and the practices are now spreading to surrounding villages as farmers adopt them on their own initiative.

The study is candid about its limits: the environmental findings reflect local experiences and perceptions in the study area and should not be generalized beyond that context. Still, the researchers draw clear policy lessons. They recommend improving access to organic certification, strengthening farmer education and training, revitalizing farmer organizations, securing government support through regulations and incentives, guaranteeing stable markets, improving infrastructure, and involving micro, small, and medium enterprises and women’s farmer groups in the organic value chain.

The broader message resonates far beyond South Sulawesi. As the global backlash against chemical-intensive agriculture grows—from the European Union’s Farm-to-Fork Strategy to India’s fully organic state of Sikkim—the Bulukumba experience suggests that the transition to sustainable farming succeeds when it is anchored in community solidarity and local values, not just subsidies and markets. In a world grappling with soil degradation, water pollution, and climate change, these Indonesian farmers may have stumbled onto something the rest of the world is only beginning to understand: that the most resilient agriculture grows from both healthy soil and strong social bonds.

Subject of Research: The socio-economic and ecological impacts of the shift from conventional to organic rice farming in Bulukumba Regency, Indonesia

Article Title: The impact of the dynamic shift to organic farming practices in bulukumba regency, Indonesia: evidence from grounded theory research

Article References: Vandalisna, Nadja, R. A., Salam, M., Fudjaja, L., Salman, D., Patandjengi, B., Heliawaty, Diansari, P., Kamarulzaman, N. H., Akzar, R., Bakheet Ali, H. N., Amir, A. A., Syam, S. H., & Summase, A. P. (2026). The impact of the dynamic shift to organic farming practices in bulukumba regency, Indonesia: evidence from grounded theory research. Frontiers in Human Dynamics, 8, Article 1820445. https://doi.org/10.3389/fhumd.2026.1820445

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3389/fhumd.2026.1820445

Keywords: organic farming, Indonesia, grounded theory, sustainable agriculture, smallholder farmers, rice cultivation, socio-ecological rationality, South Sulawesi, agricultural economics, rural development, food security, soil health

The research addresses a significant gap in the literature regarding the Sustainable Development Goals, specifically SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), and SDG 14 (Life Below Water). Existing frameworks often rely on externally imposed indicators that fail to capture the nuanced realities of coastal life, limiting their utility for effective sustainability policy. By examining how local communities define and experience well-being, the study aims to provide an empirical basis for culturally grounded interventions. This approach is crucial for ensuring that sustainability efforts in maritime regions do not inadvertently disrupt the social fabrics that keep these communities resilient in the face of environmental and economic uncertainty.

To investigate these complex social dynamics, the research team employed a qualitative exploratory design, conducting semi-structured interviews with 104 participants from two purposively selected regencies in South Sulawesi: Takalar, associated with the Makassar ethnic group, and Pangkep, associated with the Bugis ethnic group. The study utilized inductive reflexive thematic analysis to identify patterns in the participants’ narratives. This methodological choice allowed the researchers to remain open to the specific cultural contexts of the participants, avoiding the imposition of pre-existing theoretical categories that might not align with local realities. The selection of these two regencies provided a comparative perspective on how different ethnic groups within the same geographic region conceptualize well-being, highlighting both convergences and divergences in their social structures.

The analysis revealed that well-being in these communities is a multidimensional and relational construct spanning family, economic, social, psychological, spiritual, and physical domains. While these domains largely converge with those reported in cross-cultural studies, the study identifies a distinctive organizational structure: family operates as the central axis around which all other domains are ordered. This finding suggests that individual well-being is inextricably linked to one’s role and responsibilities within the family unit. Material security, for instance, is not valued for its contribution to individual accumulation or personal luxury, but rather for its role in ensuring collective continuity and the ability to fulfill familial obligations.

A key technical aspect of the study involves the examination of locally institutionalized reciprocity systems that enact this ordering of well-being. The researchers highlight the punggawa-sawi system, a form of collective fishing labor, and the marriage exchange of uang panai’ as concrete mechanisms through which social and economic bonds are reinforced. The punggawa-sawi system illustrates how labor is shared and how the proceeds of maritime activities are distributed to support the broader community, thereby embedding economic activity within a web of social obligation. Similarly, the practice of uang panai’ in marriage exchanges serves to strengthen alliances between families, ensuring that social ties are maintained across generations. These systems demonstrate that economic and social well-being are produced through continuous acts of reciprocity and mutual support.

The study further emphasizes the role of social ties and spirituality as key coping resources under conditions of environmental and economic uncertainty. For the participants, spiritual meaning provides a framework for interpreting life’s challenges, while social solidarity offers practical support during times of crisis. This relational view of well-being contrasts sharply with individualistic models that prioritize personal autonomy and self-actualization. Instead, the research shows that in ecologically dependent settings, well-being emerges through the maintenance of strong social networks and a sense of purpose derived from spiritual beliefs. This perspective has important implications for mental health interventions, suggesting that community-based approaches that strengthen social cohesion may be more effective than individual-focused therapies in these contexts.

Theoretically, the study extends universalized and individualistic models of well-being by demonstrating that shared domains can be differently configured and produced in relational, ecologically dependent settings. This challenges the assumption that well-being is a universal construct that can be measured using the same indicators across all cultures. By highlighting the specific ways in which family, reciprocity, and spirituality shape well-being in South Sulawesi, the research contributes to a more nuanced understanding of human flourishing in diverse cultural contexts. It suggests that sustainability policies must be tailored to the specific social and cultural dynamics of the communities they aim to support, rather than relying on one-size-fits-all approaches.

Practically, the findings offer an empirical basis for designing culturally grounded sustainability interventions that strengthen family resilience, social cohesion, and sustainable livelihoods in maritime regions. Policymakers and development practitioners can use these insights to create programs that align with local values and social structures, thereby increasing their acceptance and effectiveness. For example, initiatives that support the punggawa-sawi system or other forms of collective labor could enhance economic sustainability while reinforcing social bonds. Similarly, programs that incorporate spiritual and cultural elements into their design may be better received by communities that view well-being as a relational and spiritual experience.

The study was funded by the 2025 Professorial Grant from Universitas Hasanuddin and received ethical approval from the Health Research Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Nursing. The authors, affiliated with the Psychology Study Program at the Faculty of Medicine, emphasize the importance of community-defined well-being in achieving sustainable development goals. By centering the voices of the participants, the research provides a powerful critique of top-down approaches to sustainability and advocates for a more inclusive, community-driven model. This approach not only respects the cultural integrity of the communities involved but also leverages their existing social capital to achieve long-term sustainability. The study serves as a model for future research in other maritime regions, highlighting the need for contextually grounded scholarship that bridges the gap between global sustainability goals and local realities.

Subject of Research: Community-defined well-being and sustainable maritime livelihoods in South Sulawesi, Indonesia

Article Title: Uncovering community-defined well-being for sustainable maritime livelihoods among Indonesia’s coastal communities

Article References: Tamar, M., Muhiddin, S., & Wirawan, H. (2026). Uncovering community-defined well-being for sustainable maritime livelihoods among Indonesia’s coastal communities. Discover Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-026-04974-0

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s43621-026-04974-0

Keywords: coastal communities, well-being, South Sulawesi, sustainable livelihoods, maritime culture, social solidarity, family resilience, qualitative research, SDG 14, Indonesia, Uncovering, community-defined

Researchers led by Syaharuddin Alrif, Rahim Darma, Muhammad Hasbi, and Reza Asra applied a multidimensional sustainability assessment, adapted from a fisheries evaluation technique called RAPFISH, to the emerging konjac agrifood system in Sidenreng Rappang, one of the first areas in South Sulawesi to cultivate the crop commercially. Their approach, which they call RAP-Konjac, scored 27 attributes across five dimensions: economic, social, environmental, technological, and institutional. Thirty-two key informants, including twelve smallholder farmers, six local collectors, processing representatives, extension officers, academic researchers, and regional planners, provided structured scores on a five-point scale, with risk-based attributes such as export dependency reverse-coded so that higher values always meant more sustainable conditions.

The choice of study area was deliberate. Sidenreng Rappang had roughly 164 hectares of konjac under cultivation involving about 30 farmer groups and 600 farmers, and two districts, Pitu Riase and Watang Sidenreng, accounted for approximately 141 hectares, or 86 percent of the regency’s identified konjac area. Pitu Riase serves as the principal production center, while Watang Sidenreng hosts a processing factory capable of handling 40 to 70 tons of fresh tubers daily, along with aggregation, marketing, and logistics functions. Together they offered a complete window into the value chain, from field to factory gate.

The analytical machinery behind the assessment is elegant in its transparency. Multidimensional scaling transforms the ordinal attribute scores into positions within an ordination space, generating a sustainability index on a 0-to-100 scale for each dimension. Stress statistics below 0.20 and coefficients of determination above 0.80 confirmed that the ordinations fit the data well; in this study, stress values ranged from 0.145 to 0.165 and R-squared values from 0.924 to 0.933. Monte Carlo simulations, which rerun the analysis under random scoring perturbations, shifted the indices by no more than 1.39 points, meaning the results were robust to the inevitable uncertainty in expert judgment.

The headline number looks reassuring. Averaged across the five dimensions, the konjac system scored 57.41, placing it firmly in the moderately sustainable category. But the researchers’ central insight is that this aggregate figure conceals a striking asymmetry. The environmental dimension scored 67.73, the strongest of the five, while the technological dimension scored just 48.80, the only one classified as less sustainable. The 18.93-point gap between the best and worst dimensions reveals a system whose ecological foundation has developed far faster than its capacity to convert that potential into stable quality, local value addition, and resilient market participation.

The technological weakness is not a deep collapse but a near-threshold constraint, sitting just below the 50-point boundary that separates less sustainable from moderately sustainable. That positioning matters for policy, because it suggests comparatively focused improvements in farmer-level post-harvest facilities, industrial downstream processing access, certified seed systems, logistics, and innovation support could shift the dimension into a stronger category. Without such improvements, farmers remain locked into selling fresh tubers, while actors with processing facilities capture most of the value added. Nationally, the scale of this mismatch is stark: of more than 700,000 tons of konjac produced in 2020 and 2021, only about 150,000 tons met export requirements, a gap attributed to product quality, processing capacity, and compliance with market standards.

To identify where intervention would matter most, the team performed a leverage analysis, removing each attribute in turn from the ordination and measuring how much the sustainability configuration shifted. Seven attributes exceeded the high-leverage threshold of a root mean square change of 10 or more. Supply chain efficiency scored 14.90 and export market dependency 14.89, followed almost identically by agricultural extension at 14.88 and partnership effectiveness at 14.66. Seed variety conservation (11.56) and pest and disease management (11.14) anchored the environmental dimension, while industrial downstream processing technology sat exactly at the 10.00 threshold. Notably, none of the five social attributes reached even the borderline range, suggesting that social factors function as long-term enablers rather than immediate leverage points.

Combining each dimension’s sustainability status with its leverage scores produced a clear policy priority ranking: technology first, then economic restructuring, institutional strengthening, ecological consolidation, and finally inclusive rural capacity building. The economic findings carry a particular warning. Heavy dependence on a narrow export market exposes farmers and processors to external demand shocks, shifting quality standards, and buyer concentration, while fragmented supply chains raise transaction costs and weaken farmers’ bargaining positions. The researchers argue that konjac development should not be managed solely as an export-oriented commodity opportunity; transparent pricing, clearer grading standards, domestic market development, and stronger buyer-farmer coordination are equally essential. Institutional support, especially commodity-specific extension services, is the glue that holds these improvements together, because konjac cultivation, drying, slicing, grading, and quality standards all demand specialized knowledge that many farmers currently lack.

The environmental story is more nuanced than the strong 67.73 score might suggest. The assessment covered locally observable management practices, erosion risk, pest management, seed conservation, and chemical input use, but it did not quantify water use, energy consumption, or greenhouse gas emissions, so the index reflects local environmental management rather than a complete life-cycle footprint. Even so, the high leverage of seed variety conservation and pest management signals a real vulnerability: as commercial cultivation expands, reliance on selected planting materials can erode genetic diversity and intensify disease pressure. Ecological suitability, the authors conclude, is a necessary foundation for konjac development but is nowhere near sufficient on its own for a sustainable transformation.

Perhaps the most transferable lesson of the study is methodological. A system can be classified as moderately sustainable overall while remaining poorly prepared for transformation in one or more of its enabling dimensions, a condition the researchers call asymmetric sustainability. By pairing dimension-specific indices with attribute-level leverage scores, RAP-Konjac turns stakeholder knowledge into a transparent, testable order of policy attention, an approach that could be applied to other konjac-producing regions and to other emerging bio-based commodities racing from forest edge to global market. The konjac boom in South Sulawesi is real, and its ecological footing is comparatively solid, but whether smallholder farmers capture a fair share of the glucomannan economy will depend on closing the technology gap before the raw-material export pathway hardens into permanence.

Subject of Research: Multidimensional sustainability assessment of Indonesia's emerging konjac (porang) agrifood system using RAPFISH-based multidimensional scaling in Sidenreng Rappang Regency

Article Title: Multidimensional sustainability assessment of Indonesia's emerging konjac agrifood system: A case study in Sidenreng Rappang

Article References: Alrif, S., Darma, R., Hasbi, M., & Asra, R. (2026). Multidimensional sustainability assessment of Indonesia's emerging konjac agrifood system: A case study in Sidenreng Rappang. Environmental and Sustainability Indicators, 32, Article 101555. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indic.2026.101555

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1016/j.indic.2026.101555

Keywords: konjac, porang, glucomannan, sustainability assessment, RAPFISH, multidimensional scaling, agrifood system, Indonesia, South Sulawesi, smallholder farmers, value chain, transition readiness