This paper contributes to a long-standing debate in development practice: under what conditions can externally established participatory groups engage in the collective management of services beyond the life of a project? Using 10 years of panel data on water point functionality from Indonesia’s rural water program, the Program for Community-Based Water Supply and Sanitation, the paper explored the determinants of subnational variation in infrastructure sustainability. It then investigated positive and negative deviance cases to answer why some communities successfully engaged in system management despite being located in difficult conditions as per quantitative findings and vice versa. The findings show that differences in the implementation of community participation, driven by local social relations between frontline service providers, that is, village authorities and water user groups, explain sustainable management. This initial condition of state-society relations influences how the project is initiated, kicking off negative or positive reinforcing pathways, leading to community collective action or exit. The paper concludes that the relationships between frontline government representatives and community actors are important and are an underexamined aspect of the ability of external projects to generate successful community-led management of public goods.

Embassies are important buildings, involving the diplomatic image of a country’s government in another foreign country. Given the rising tensions between countries, either political, economic, religion or war, attacks on embassies have been increasing in recent years. Thus, it is evident that appropriate measures are to be taken to reduce the potential impact of an attack. The paper discusses the measures in enhancing building security of embassies. The principles for Security Planning and Design are discussed, followed by an introduction to a systematic security risk assessment framework. The framework is evaluated regarding the potential security risk posed by an attack against elements of the mega infrastructure using explosives. Further options to increase the security of embassies are also explored to reduce the risk of a potential attack. A security-enhanced building, planned and constructed well to specifications, can provide benefits to the client, including greater cost advantage and increase of value for the structure.

The debate on relocating Indonesia's national capital from Jakarta stems from critical issues such as overpopulation, social inequality, environmental degradation, and natural disaster risks. These challenges highlight the need to reassess Jakarta's viability as the nation's administrative center. This study evaluates Indonesia's readiness to address the complexities of relocation by analyzing Jakarta's socio-economic, political, cultural, and geographical conditions. Using a systematic literature review (SLR) with a qualitative approach, the research explores key questions: Do Jakarta's conditions necessitate relocation? What challenges might arise from the move? How prepared is Indonesia to tackle these challenges? The SLR process includes defining questions, sourcing literature from reputable databases, applying inclusion/exclusion criteria, and synthesizing data for analysis. Findings reveal Jakarta's multifaceted challenges, including social disparities, environmental degradation, disaster risks, and governance issues, which emphasize the urgency of considering relocation. However, the study also identifies significant hurdles, such as high costs, logistical complexities, potential social conflicts, and environmental risks at the new capital site. Relocating the capital is a strategic and complex undertaking that requires meticulous planning. Indonesia must weigh Jakarta's current issues, address potential relocation challenges, and ensure readiness for risk mitigation and sustainable development. Comprehensive and thoughtful planning is essential to achieve a successful and balanced transition.

In marginalized ecosystem-dependent rural communities, access to ecosystem services plays a crucial role in achieving sustainable livelihoods. This study was conducted to find out the influence of various livelihood capital components on the access mechanism for forest-based Provisioning Services (PS) in some selected villages of the Gosaba Block on the fringes of the Sundarban. The contribution of the livelihood capitals to gain access to Provisioning Services (PS) was identified using factor analysis on 160 households, selected through cluster random sampling. The sustainability levels of livelihood capitals were analyzed using the Prescott-Allen method (2001). The natural, financial, social, and physical capitals were significantly below average, while the human capital was close to average. Enhancement of human, physical, financial, and social capital, ease in issuing Biometric Fisherman cards for entering forests, flexibility in borrowing loans, and ecotourism by involving local villagers must be encouraged to enhance forest-based provisioning services in the near future.