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.