| Abstract: |
| The Government of Indonesia (GoI) declared Mount Halimun-Salak as national park in 2003 based on the forest ecosystems richness and hydrological function. Administratively, it is located in West Java and Banten Provinces within three regencies (namely Bogor, Sukabumi and Lebak) covering an area of 113,357 hectares. The national park itself can be reached within four hours of journey from Jakarta, capital of Indonesia, toward the interior of Lebak District.When the government changed the status of Mount Halimun-Salak into a national park, the people living within its boundaries saw this as infringement on their customary rights. Several signposts declaring national park designation were erected surrounding its boundaries, causing concern among the people. According to the government officials, the customary people have never had legal rights to settle and farm the land. Fear from being evicted, on 16th – 18th October 2003, the customary people from 31 villages within the national park held a meeting in Bogor and refuted the government’s declaration. To support their resistance and claim over their customary land rights, the people set up a local organization, named Forum Komunikasi Halimun Jawa Barat-Banten (FKMHJBB). A local NGO, named RMI (Rimbawan Muda Indonesia), assisted and advocated their cause during the campaign and litigation processes against the government.As the processes develop, there is a need to involve more support from other institutions. In 2005, ICRAF, an international research institution, got involved in these processes as advisor on science and research refinement, especially on legal status of state forestland and historical findings. Another local NGO named HUMA also participates on legal and policy aspects. In the processes, these two institutions have changed the community representative’s mind and approach from litigation against the government to dialogue and negotiation with the government. To support these new processes, a working group on land tenure issue, WG-T, facilitates the processes as a convener. After long processes of negotiation, in the end of 2006, all the stakeholders agreed to give more secure land rights for the customary people through district regulation and special zone under national park management. An ongoing study tries to explore the struggle of the people of Mount Halimun-Salak in securing their customary land rights after the national park declaration. Even though these regulations on customary land rights is not a new policies in Indonesia, but at least, it is a breakthrough for the customary people in Mount Halimun-Salak for securing their land rights within the national park boundaries. |
|
