Climate change in Indonesian forest governance: A frame analysis of the scientific discourse

Indonesia is one of the world's largest tropical forest countries, contributing substantial emissions through deforestation and fires, while the forest sector is expected to deliver a major share of national climate targets. This dual role makes climate change a potentially contested issue in forest governance. To understand how the issue is defined and problematized, this paper examines how climate change is framed in Indonesia's scientific discourse on forest governance. Applying frame analysis to 173 scientific articles, we identify dominant problem and solution frames and explore their interaction with theoretical perspectives, author affiliations, and key governance issues. Our findings reveal a persistent dominance of ecological framing, which positions forests both as major sources of carbon emissions and as crucial carbon sinks, promoting REDD+ as a central solution. However, the literature increasingly critiques REDD+ for its limited transformative impact and neglect of socio-political complexities, including weak institutional capacity, tenure conflicts, and the marginalization of local communities. Prevailing scientific frames often reflect global policy agendas, particularly through international research collaborations, whereas locally grounded problem and solution frames remain less visible. These results highlight the influence of global scientific and policy networks on Indonesia's forest discourse and underscore the need for a more holistic approach integrating socio-political dimensions and local–national contexts. By revealing patterns and limitations of current scientific framings, the study contributes to understanding how climate change shapes forest governance debates and offers insights for more inclusive and context-sensitive approaches in Indonesia and other tropical forest countries.