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RAPID LAND TENURE ASSESSMENT (RaTA): A Tool for Identifying the Nature of Land Tenure Conflicts

Land access: rights, conflicts and cooperation

Deforestation, forest fire, illegal logging and land conflicts with indigenous people are often major problems in forest resource management. Many scholars relate these problems to land tenure issues, but few studies have provided detailed analysis of competing claims of access and use rights on forest land. The main source of these competing claims can be traced to lack of clarity, legitimacy and legality of land tenure policies. Legality refers to alignment with constitutional rights and principles, while legitimacy refers to full stakeholders' involvement in discussions and legal reform. Land tenure conflicts arise from perceptions and the different interpretation that people give to their rights over forest land and resource. Unlike other guidelines that only identify existing land tenure systems and general conflicts, the Rapid Land Tenure Assessment explores competing claims among different stakeholders as these competing claims are often related to competing land tenure policies, developed in different historical periods and for various purposes.

RaTA Objectives and Analytical Framework

RaTA aims to seek and reveal the competing perceived historical and legal claims among the stakeholders, who hold different rights and interests. Five objectives are used to engage land tenure conflicts, namely general reading of land and conflict, stakeholder analysis, various forms of perceived historical and legal claims, linkages of these claims to policy and (customary) land laws, and mechanisms for conflict resolution (see Table 1).

Table 1. Objectives of the study on RaTA

As an analytical framework (see Figure 1), RaTA offers guidance on the important things in locating and obtaining the initial data necessary for policy makers/mediators to develop conflict resolution mechanism based on policies. As a tool, RaTA consists of six steps (see Figure 2). Different techniques such as Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), stakeholder analysis and the exploration of legal policies/laws are among the methods that have been taken account of in different phases of RaTA.

Case study: The Misty Mountain of Halimun Salak - a confusion of legal rights from multiple historic claims

An 113,357 hectare area of Mount Halimun-Salak was declared as a national park in 2003 due to the forest ecosystems’ richness and hydrological functions. Signposts declaring the national park were posted near its boundaries, causing much concern among the people who claim to have the traditional access rights to the designated land, despite being disregarded by the national park authorities. What is illegal as perceived by national park authorities is not perceived as illegal by the local people.

The land claims dispute to this area was not only between the national park authorities and the local communities, but also with the District Government of Lebak. Around 15,000 ha of designated national park land was claimed for mining operations, crop-estate plantation and infrastructure development. These competing claims create uncertainties over property rights in Mount Halimun-Salak area.

Based on interviews, legal documents and policy analysis, the national park authorities’ claims are based on the gazettal and delineation processes during the Dutch Colonial period and then during the Independence period in 1950s, 1970s and 1980s. From 1280 km of designated land boundaries, only 110 km have not yet been gazetted and delineated; the rest is legally protected.

On the other hand, local people have their own claims based on history, livelihood and traditional legality. Historically, the designated land had been previously used by the people for shifting cultivation since 1920s, before being declared by the Dutch Colonial Government as state land. However, in legal terms, governments at that time until now have rejected the land use system by the local people and considered shifting cultivation as open access and not being part of any legal property rights.

In addition to ancestral claims, some people also have land ownership certificates as legal proof. These certificates were issued by the National Land Agency in 1960s as part of national land reform. Others view their dependency for livelihood as their legal claims. As part of RaTA, PRA tools were used in four villages inside the national park area to understand the conflicting claims. The findings show that large proportion (70 per cent) of local people’s livelihood sources depend upon their access to the designated national park. This dependency is one of the reasons why local people defend their claims so strongly.

The District Government of Lebak has also different claim to this area based on historic and policy interpretation. The 15,000 ha area was under a mining company’s control since 1958 under the Government Regulation No. 91 of 1961. This law did not mention about state forest zone, and therefore, it should be considered that the land is under the control of the state, but not as a state forest zone. Unless these differences in both claims and policy interpretation are resolved and the needs and interests of all concerned stakeholders are accommodated, conflicts are likely that will jeopardise the rich biodiversity in the area.

Sites for RaTA

Printed Flyer - English - Indonesian

Manual RaTA - Indonesian

The INRM Tools