Impact Assessment Tools for Renewable Energy Investments in Orang Asli Communities

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-358-0_14How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Renewable energy investments; Orang Asli communities; Impact assessment; Nominal Group Technique (NGT); Indigenous rights

Abstract

This study addresses the pressing need for comprehensive impact assessment instruments tailored to renewable energy investments in Orang Asli territories, indigenous peoples of Peninsular Malaysia. Despite the promises of sustainability, such investments present challenges and risks to indigenous communities, including land displacement and socio-cultural disruptions. Traditional impact assessment methodologies often fail to capture these complexities. Therefore, employing the Nominal Group Technique (NGT), this study identifies indicators and sub-indicators for impact assessment instruments specific to Orang Asli communities. Seven participants, including policymakers, academics, Orang Asli representatives, and NGOs, engaged in structured group discussions to prioritize key indicators. The results revealed seven indicators and and 25 sub-indicators, with economic improvement ranking highest. Specifically, “Improving the Economic Level of Orang Asli” ranked first, followed by “Ensuring the Safety of Residents” and “Improving the Social Value of Orang Asli Communities,” both at second place, “Improving the Level of Education Among Orang Asli” and “Preserving the Customs and Culture of Orang Asli” at fourth place, “Improving the Skills of Orang Asli” at sixth place, and “Improving the Quality of Health Among Orang Asli” at seventh place. This study contributes to ongoing dialogue on renewable energy development and indigenous rights, fostering inclusive and equitable outcomes for Orang Asli communities.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Muhammad Ridhuan Tony Lim Abdullah
AU  - Farrah Ilyani Che Jamaludin
AU  - Mohd Ikhwan Izzat Zulkefli
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/01/31
TI  - Impact Assessment Tools for Renewable Energy Investments in Orang Asli Communities
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ICESG 2024)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 168
EP  - 185
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-358-0_14
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-358-0_14
ID  - Abdullah2025
ER  -