This article is published in the magazine Warta Tenure Edition-10, 2012 ISSN-1978-1865

by: Sisilia Nurmala Dewi and Andiko (HuMa Association)

. Tenurial issues still cannot be eradicated in forest management in Indonesia. The tenurial issues referred to concern the overlapping control of forest areas. Based on observations of articles in the national mass media, 359 conflict incidents in the forestry sector have occurred from January 1997 to June 2003[2]. Out of the 359 recorded conflict cases, 39% occurred in HTI areas, 34% in conservation areas (including protected forests and national parks), and 27% in HPH areas. According to data released by HuMa, in 2011 there were a total of 157 natural resource conflict cases. Among these cases, 65 cases or 41% of all conflicts occurred in forest areas. This number is the highest compared to cases in other sectors. The uncertainty and inequality in forest area control have hindered the effectiveness and justice in forest management in Indonesia. This issue not only affects indigenous communities and local communities who reside in and utilize land and resources within forest areas but also forestry business institutions and the government[3].

During a forest farmer meeting in Central Java in 2006[4], various problems in Javanese forest management were identified. Firstly, issues related to the origin or history of the land; secondly, determining land boundaries without involving community participation; thirdly, differences in concepts between communities and Perhutani regarding forests and their management; fourthly, communities unable to manage forests independently; fifthly, issues of Community-Based Forest Management; sixthly, Sustainable Forest Management Operations (OHL) leading to the capture of forest farmers. From this, we can see a strong tenurial conflict in forests between communities, in this case, farmers, and State-owned companies. This is related to the State’s claim to State forests above customary forests controlled by customary law communities. State forest claims provide room for unilateral State control over forests through its owned companies or permits issued with the authority held by regional governments.

It becomes clear that overlapping claims over forests occur due to unclear legislation and policies, uncoordinated permit issuance, and denial of recognition of indigenous communities and other local forest users. These conflicts also stem from the most fundamental views on forest management. So far, forests have been viewed merely as objects. This is in line with what Hariadi Kartodihardjo, a forest policy professor at the IPB Forestry Faculty, mentioned. Forest management has been based on doctrines derived from colonial European forest management, where forests are still seen as the primary source of wood, maintaining the long-term sustainability of forest products, and forest as an object of scientific knowledge. Thus, in policy implementation, the goal is to maximize economic benefits from forest utilization. This is done without considering the existence of both indigenous and local communities living in and depending on the forest for their daily needs provided by Mother Earth. In forest areas, more than 40 million people live and depend on the forest. According to the Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut), over 10 million people in these communities live below the poverty line. However, it must be remembered that they have existed for generations before the State was formed and before their forests fell under State forest hegemony. Additionally, sectoral policies and decentralization that have spread in the past decade have further exacerbated this situation.

To improve this situation and bring tenurial certainty and justice, joint action between the government and civil society groups is needed in three main areas, which include: firstly, policy improvement and acceleration of forest area designation processes; secondly, forest conflict resolution; thirdly, expansion of community-managed areas and improvement of the welfare of indigenous communities and other local communities