Abstract
The allocation of land use in Indonesia is very inefficient, while the distribution of tenure is unequal. Half of the land for cultivation is held by forestry, and the other half is used by various other sectors. Most Indonesian farmers are small- scale farmers who do not meet economies of scale. Agrarian reforms aimed at overcoming inefficiency in land use, eliminating inequality in land tenure, and promoting rural areas’ prosperity need to involve land for cultivation allocated for forestry. This paper is written based on the author’s experience of interacting with various parties related to land issues, forest areas and agrarian reform through various forums, such as official meetings, focus group discussions, seminars, workshops, symposiums, one-on-one discussions (interviews), and interactions through social media. Agrarian reform, which has been launched since 1960, has not been able to be realized until today. The fight seems to involve two large groups, namely environmentalists and developmentalists, but this kind of grouping is likely to be misleading. Environmental issues may only be used as an instrument to obtain economic benefits as well, not for the environment itself.
Highlights
The clear land status is fundamental and crucial for economic development in general and agriculture development in particular
Bedner (2016) provides a comprehensive 'big picture' history of Indonesian land law nicely in the post-colonial era. He further maintains that the core of the problem with land law in Indonesia is how the institutions responsible for the operation of the rules open the door to evasion and abuse
The purpose of this paper is to show how substantial agrarian reform is impossible without dismantling the power that grips land claimed as forest areas
Summary
The clear land status is fundamental and crucial for economic development in general and agriculture development in particular. This is what has been missing in Indonesia until very recently. Bedner (2016) provides a comprehensive 'big picture' history of Indonesian land law nicely in the post-colonial era. He further maintains that the core of the problem with land law in Indonesia is how the institutions responsible for the operation of the rules open the door to evasion and abuse. No judiciary is able to remove the legal uncertainties surrounding land law. Indonesia's land problem is that land tenure of millions of Indonesians is insecure
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