Stop using violence to settle land, forest disputes: Survey

Stop using violence to settle land, forest disputes: Survey

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A group of researchers has warned forest concessionaires
against using the military or violence to resolve numerous forest
disputes with millions of indigenous people across the country.

If the current trend continues, prolonged disputes will
prevail, stated the survey, which was conducted by Marcus
Colchester, Martua Sirait and Boedhi Wijardjo, in cooperation
with the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), the
Indonesian Indigenous People Alliance (AMAN) and the Rain Forest
Foundation.

"They (forestry companies) need to hold a dialog, instead of
using the military or violence to resolve the conflicts," the
researchers said.

They said disputes between forestry companies and indigenous
people were sparked by the unilateral granting of forest
concessions by the government without considering the 65 million
people living near the forests.

The researchers said state forestry company Perhutani, which
is authorized by the government to manage state forests in Java,
was an example of parties who ignore the rights of indigenous
people during their operations.

"Perhutani obtains its forest concessions from the government,
but the company is rejected by the people because state forests
take over villagers' land. Their rights are not recognized, and
Perhutani never shares the profits with them," they said.

Citing an example, they said that in Cepu, Central Java,
Perhutani had arbitrarily cut down old-growth trees belonging to
residents of Jajang village without the villagers' consent.

The residents claimed they had cultivated the area before the
arrival of Dutch colonists.

The report said that Perhutani resorted to violence by
shooting or torturing locals, who were accused of stealing the
company's logs.

Meanwhile, research carried out on two forest concession
holders -- PT Diamond Raya Timber in Riau and PT Intracawood
Manufacturing in East Kalimantan -- found that the firms did not
recognize local residents' rights over the areas, the researchers
said.

The research said that in PT Intracawood's case, local
villagers claimed to own the entire area of the company's forest
concession, but there were no indications that the company would
respect the people's right to manage the forests.

People living in Berusu, Tidung and Punan are among the
indigenous communities in the eight areas who are claiming
ownership over the areas exploited by PT Intracawood, which has
resulted in a prolonged dispute with the company, the research
said.

"PT Intracawood allegedly pressed local community leaders to
drop their claim over the land within the forest concession," it
said.

The researchers called on the government to reform how forests
are managed so that it would lead to the recognition of local
people's rights.

They demanded that the government allocate concessions through
public hearings with people living near the forests. They also
urged the government to exclude areas belonging to indigenous
people.

"Forest concessions should also be granted to companies with
the consent of well-informed locals," the researchers said.

International Labor Organization (ILO) convention No. 169/1989
on indigenous people in independent states should be ratified to
help protect their rights, the research said.

Forest concessionaires should also be granted certificates to
ensure that forests are managed with attention also given to
local residents, the research said.