The West and East Regional Dialogues related to Accelerating the Recognition of Customary Territories in 15 locations supported by HuMa, along with its partners (JKMA, Qbar Association, Akar Bengkulu Foundation, KKI Warsi, Rimbawan Muda Indonesia, Bela Banua Talino Institute, Padi, Bantaya Association, Wallacea Association, AMAN Sulsel, and Merah Putih Palu Foundation) have been conducted. The West Regional Dialogue took place in Padang on June 10-11, 2015. Meanwhile, the East Regional Dialogue was held in Makassar on July 6-7, 2015.

After several similar dialogues at the national level, such as the Customary Forest Dialogue, Santika Dialogue, and the one in Lombok, HuMa and its partners saw the need for a meeting involving local governments, customary law communities, and support institutions. This meeting is intended to specifically discuss action plans in each region that have different stages of development and advocacy contexts. For example, out of the 15 locations, some areas have recognized customary law communities in regional regulations, some are acknowledged in the Regent’s Decree, and some still lack all three, as seen in the matrix below.

The above classification ultimately determines which areas need to be prioritized in the near future, while others need to fulfill some requirements, such as the presence of participatory maps and encouraging the readiness of customary institutions. This is important to meet the necessary legal requirements and maintain the stability of customary territories, preparing them for the upcoming legal statuses and management plans for these customary territories.

In general, the key points of agreement resulting from the regional dialogues are:

1. The regional dialogue on customary forests strengthens the support of local governments and understanding of the importance of accelerating the drafting of local regulations regarding the recognition of customary communities as a prerequisite for designating customary territories and/or customary forests. This recognition of customary communities in local regulations can be in the form of a Regent’s Decree based on Ministry of Home Affairs Regulation 52/2014 on Guidelines for Recognition and Protection of Customary Law Communities, or in the form of local regulations based on the Village Law and Forestry Law.
2. The regional dialogue on customary forests strengthens the support of local governments and related ministries and enhances the understanding of the importance of synchronizing regulations at the central level, regarding the procedures for designating customary territories and/or customary forests across sectors. This understanding is built on the awareness that customary territories are not just customary forests (territories within forest areas), so the process of inventorying and designating the rights of customary communities over their territories is carried out across sectors.
3. The regional dialogue on customary forests produces a joint action plan among local governments, supporting NGOs, and indigenous community groups in the 15 customary forest locations. This joint action plan is divided into three categories based on the situation of recognition of customary communities in local regulations.

The support built at the local level with the local governments acts as a gateway for further advocacy. The current challenge faced is the intense preparation for simultaneous regional elections, which diverts much energy at the local government level to this area. In such a situation, issuing local regulations is not a top priority, and therefore, the preparation for recognizing customary territories requires extra stamina and appropriate strategies, especially in aligning goals, such as forming IP4T teams and/or preparing draft local regulations.{{PLACEHOLDER_