Outline

We find land grabbing’s in Indonesia everywhere, such as food estates, oil palm planation, timber-plantation, nickel mining, Redd+ green land grabbing and so on. Here we analyze these land grabbing’s from 1) political economy approach and 2) agrarian study approach on the case of land grabbing took place since 2009 at Padang Island, Riau Province, Indonesia by RAPP timber company.

Presentation 1)
Self-Injury: Strategic Resistance by Local People of Pulau Padang, Riau

Speakers

Wahyu Prasetyawan (Faculty of Communication, Islamic State University Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta, Indonesia / Visiting Research Scholar 2024–2025, CSEAS Kyoto University)
Thung Ju Lan (Research Center for Society and Culture, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Jakarta, Indonesia)
Hidayatullah Rabbani (Research Center for Society and Culture, BRIN, Jakarta, Indonesia)

Abstract

This paper presents a narrative on the phenomenon of self-injury staged by peasants on Padang Island, Meranti Islands Regency, as a form of resistance to capital. Our study shows that the local peasants’ adoption of self-injury is shaped by objective circumstances and emerges through processes of imagination influenced by marginalization in terms of culture, power, and economy. Firstly, self-injury was adopted because of the peasants’ low bargaining position in the face of capital, which enjoys the support of the government at both the central and provincial levels. Secondly, self-injury can be viewed as a final act of protest and a sign of desperation by marginalized peasants within the context of the political economy of forestry development in Indonesia. These findings indicate that self-injury is evident in efforts to resolve land conflicts.

Keywords

Conflict, Natural Resources, Local People, Resistance, Self-injury, Pulau Padang

Presentation 2)
How were the customary land rights respected? A case study of the land grabbing in Padang Island, Riau, Indonesia

Speakers

Kosuke Mizuno (School of Environmental Science, University of Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia / Affiliated Professor, CSEAS Kyoto University)
Dianto Bachriadi (Agrarian Resource Center, Bandung, Indonesia)
Pandu Sujiwo Kusumo (Agrarian Resource Center, Bandung, Indonesia)
Miqdad Fadhil Muhammad (Agrarian Resource Center, Bandung, Indonesia)
Hilma Safitri (Agrarian Resource Center, Bandung, Indonesia)

Abstract

Indonesia has a long history of governmental policy related to customary land rights, in addition to a wide array of academic polemic on the topic. Indonesian socio-political history has seen both ignorance towards the customary land rights of local people, and, conversely, efforts to respect them. Since the resignation of President Suharto, respect towards customary land rights have become more prevalent at the national level. This study aims to assess this trend shift via the case study of land grabbing in Padang Island, Island of peatlands, Indonesia since 2009, based on field work conducted from October 2023 to August 2024. Initially, the industrial timber plantation there was host to a variety of issues with regards to the treatment of people’s land rights, including rampant land mafiaism. However, due to the direct political action undertaken by local people, and the report of the mediation team, land transactions became more transparent and the will of local people was eventually respected. In spite of this, customary land rights are still not officially recognized by the company.

Keywords

Customary land rights, state forest (Kawasan Hutan), land grabbing, industrial timber plantation, documents to certify the land rights, peatlands