AMAN Asks Government To Examine Bureaucratic Barriers To Recognition Of Customary Forest Areas

Illustration of forest appearance in West Papua Province. (Antara-Hans Arnold Kapisa)

JAKARTA - The Alliance of Indigenous Peoples of the Archipelago (AMAN) has asked the government to investigate and at the same time deal with bureaucratic obstacles in recognizing customary forest areas. The effort is to accelerate the determination of customary forests

"Right now, the government needs to speed things up, to ensure that the bureaucratic and administrative obstacles are immediately cleared," AMAN Secretary General Rukka Sombolinggi said after a press conference on the VI Congress of Indigenous Peoples of the Archipelago (KMAN) in Jakarta, Thursday, July 14.

He revealed that legal uncertainty and the absence of recognition of indigenous peoples' rights to forest areas could actually hinder the implementation of the government's development program.

"Determination of customary forests is a bonus, the administration of what is called customary forest is most important for full recognition of the existence of indigenous peoples and their ulayat rights," he said.

"We also want to participate, contribute to development," he continued.

Based on the Antara report, data from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) as of December 13, 2021, states that the determination of the status of customary forests has covered an area of ​​69,147 hectares out of a total of 1,090,755 hectares of the indicative area of ​​customary forests.

Expert Staff of the Presidential Staff Office (KSP) Theo Litaay said the government is trying to accelerate the implementation of social forestry programs, including the determination of the status of customary forests.

​​​​Theo said that KSP oversees the discussion of the draft presidential regulation on integrated planning for the acceleration of social forestry management.

"One of the important things is that the adoption by local governments in several provinces is already underway, but some are still in process," said Theo.