Reconstructing Indigenous Land Rights in Forest Areas: A Framework for Social Justice-Based Agrarian Reform in Indonesia
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This study examines the juridical challenges facing customary land rights (hak ulayat) within forest areas in Indonesia's agrarian reform framework. Using a normative juridical approach with doctrinal analysis and comparative legal methods, the research identifies three critical structural barriers: (1) legal ambiguity surrounding customary rights status, (2) regulatory fragmentation across forestry and agrarian sectors, and (3) systematic marginalization of indigenous communities in forest governance. The Constitutional Court Decision No. 35/PUU-X/2012, which established that customary forests are not categorically state forests, represents a significant legal breakthrough, yet implementation remains constrained by bureaucratic complexities. The findings reveal that current juridical arrangements reflect colonial continuities rather than post-colonial transformation, with forest governance systems perpetuating control mechanisms that privilege state property concepts over indigenous collective tenure systems. The study proposes a comprehensive juridical reconstruction framework through: harmonization of Forestry Law with Basic Agrarian Law (UUPA), evidence-based recognition mechanisms, participatory mapping initiatives, and specialized conflict resolution mechanisms. The research concludes that strengthening customary rights recognition is a prerequisite for socially just agrarian reform, contributing to both legal pluralism theory and indigenous rights jurisprudence in Indonesia.
Institution: Sultan Agung Islamic University
Language: English
Topic: Land Rights and Reforms
Subfield: Soil Science
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4415915575