"The essence of land reform and social forestry is how the people can have access to the forests, as part of Indonesias natural resources. This is how the people could access them and create a fair economy and improve public prosperity," the president remarked at the opening of a conference on land reform and forest management at the State Palace.
President Jokowi noted that to encourage economic equality, the government will distribute five million land certificates in 2017, seven million certificates in 2018, and nine million in 2019.
Land certificates will prevent any legal land ownership disputes.
The head of state expressed hope that the conference would help to boost synergy among civil society, ministries, and other state institutions.
"I hope the conference would deliver concrete results and a road map that is applicable for central and local governments, civil society, and entrepreneurs to accelerate land reform and the social forestry program," he remarked.
Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya stated earlier that the government, in its medium-term development program, had targeted to redistribute 12.7 million hectares of land.
The conference will discuss issues on structural imbalance, indigenous forest land, distribution of land use in conservation forests, protection of indigenous people, and people-based economic development, among others. (*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2017
