Social Conflict Looms Behind Unresolved Village Boundaries

The acceleration of village boundary demarcation is considered urgent given the significant potential for social conflict caused by differing territorial claims within communities. The Director General of Village Government Development at the Ministry of Home Affairs, La Ode Ahmad P. Bolombo, explained that village boundaries must be mapped from the outset before the boundary lines are definitively established.

According to Bolombo, a boundary line has wide-ranging consequences as it determines jurisdiction, public services, assets, access, and development planning. “Experience with conflict shows that a line never functions merely as a cartographic object,” La Ode stated in a press release from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Sunday (13/09/2026).

Consequently, the Ministry of Home Affairs requires environmental and social screening in the implementation of activities receiving World Bank funding. This screening is conducted to ascertain the initial condition of villages and to detect potential issues before boundary demarcation work is carried out in the field.

According to La Ode, the screening results will be used to map villages that do not have potential problems and those that require further handling. Relatively safe villages can proceed through all stages, whereas areas with potential issues will receive facilitated and tiered mediation.

The first stage of the ILASPP project in Bolaang Mongondow Regency serves as an example. Out of 200 villages, initial screening identified 16 villages with potential boundary issues. Following follow-up actions by the local government, 12 villages were still indicated as problematic during the kick-off meeting. In subsequent implementation, six villages had not reached an agreement, leading the matter to be brought to the regency level. “Facilitation and mediation were conducted by the Regent, and ultimately, all villages were able to reach an agreement,” he said.