Akar Global initiative conducted direct mentoring during the Entry meeting of Customary Forest Verification in Lebong Regency, Muara Aman, on May 2, 2024. The event took place in the meeting hall of the Lebong Regency Development Planning Agency (Bapeda). The participants included 100 people from representatives of the Ministry of Forestry and Environment, the Lebong Regency Government, the Sumatra BPSKL Region, the Kerinci Sebelat National Park Office, the Bengkulu-Lampung BKSDA, the Lampung-Bengkulu BPKH, IPB, and the University of Bengkulu.

The Entry meeting was opened by H. Mustarani, SH, M.Si, the Secretary of Lebong Regency, who began his speech by stating that the customary forest recognition initiative had been carried out since 2012-2013 by Akar Global Initiative together with customary law communities and local governments.

“Therefore, we express our utmost appreciation to Akar Global Initiative for assisting the Rejang customary law community in Lebong Regency in promoting the recognition of customary forests in the 12 Kutai in Lebong Regency,” said Mustarani in his speech.

Mustarani also provided further information that this activity was held in support of the Lebong Regency Government, which had enacted Regional Regulation No. 4 of 2017 concerning the Recognition and Protection of the Rejang Customary Law Community in Lebong Regency. As a derivative of this regulation, in 2018, 12 Regent Decrees were issued to establish and recognize the customary law communities in Lebong Regency.

The activity also involved academic members, Septri Widiono, a lecturer in the Department of Agricultural Socio-Economics at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Bengkulu, who had conducted research on Socio-Agrarian Relations and Dynamics of the Rejang Customary Law Community in Lebong Regency. During the entry meeting, he emphasized that the lack of legal access to forest resources posed a vulnerability to the livelihoods of the Rejang Customary Law Community in Lebong Regency.

“To support the recognition and management of the Rejang Customary Law Community in Lebong, there are three main pillars: customary stakeholders (Village Head, Kutai Chief, and Imam), as well as other elements in the community who play a key role as subjects of customary forests,” said Septri.

Septri also added that customary consensus is a key mechanism in decision-making regarding the rights and obligations of Kutai descendants. The forest is collectively owned, where Kutai descendants have the right to utilize forest products and manage them as cultivation land through usage rights. Cultivation land is privately/family-owned and can be inherited.

Representing the Akar Global Initiative and the Customary Forest Verification team in Lebong Regency, Warman Kudus explained that the activities carried out during this one-week period aimed to determine whether the prerequisites for recognizing customary forests for the Rejang Customary Law Community in Lebong Regency were met.

“Our hope is that the work we have been doing since 2012 will lead to the ultimate goal of recognizing the Customary Forest as part of the rights of the Rejang Customary Law Community in Lebong Regency. The recognition and legitimacy of customary forests are essential for the Rejang Customary Law Community as it is where their future aspirations for rights restoration, welfare, and sustainability are anchored,” concluded Warman.

NEWS SOURCE: https://akar.or.id/12-usulan-hutan-adat-di-lebong-di-verifikasi-oleh-menteri-kehutanan-dan-lingkungan-hidup/