Forest tenure and conflict in Indonesia: Contested rights in Rempek Village, Lombok

Abstract

Land tenure in Indonesia is regulated by a complex combination of traditional, formal and informal arrangements. Legal ambiguity over land and natural resources has resulted in tenure insecurity, impacting livelihoods and perpetuating conflict. We reviewed land and forest laws in Indonesia and their effect on livelihoods and conflict and studied the impact of land tenure uncertainty in Rempek village on the island of Lombok, Nusa Tenggara Barat. In Rempek, conflict over land tenure and forest boundaries has occurred since 1984. We built a timeline of events from discussions with various stakeholders and obtained legal documents to support our analysis. The major driver of conflict is the disagreement over the forest boundaries between the Ministry of Forestry and the National Land Agency. This disagreement has escalated and introduced uncertainty, which negatively affects livelihoods in the area. Conflict resolution in Rempek requires a multi-stakeholder approach and an agreement between the Ministry of Forestry and the National Land Agency over the forest boundary and an explicit classification of land status in the conflict area. Our case study is relevant to recurrent disputes over land tenure in contemporary Indonesia. Agrarian conflict and tenure insecurity have stimulated political and social justice movements throughout the country. Recent reforms of land and forest tenure in Indonesia are opening up new pathways for local forest tenure arrangements in situations such as Rempek. Integrated landscape approaches are emerging in Indonesia and have elements that may contribute to resolving land tenure uncertainty. As land tenure security underpins livelihoods for most Indonesians, land authorities must demonstrate stronger coordination and pay more attention to realities on the ground to achieve political and legal progress on land tenure arrangements.