"Now, the government needs to speed up (the recognition process); (for) that bureaucratic obstacles and administrative barriers should be immediately cleared," AMAN secretary general Rukka Sombolinggi said at a press conference on the sixth congress of the Indigenous Peoples of the Archipelago (KMAN), here on Thursday.
Legal uncertainty and lack of recognition of indigenous peoples' rights over forest areas could actually hinder the running of government development programs, she pointed out.
"The recognition of indigenous forests is a bonus (for development programs), (and) the most important thing is the full acknowledgment of the existence of indigenous peoples and their customary rights," she said.
"We also want to participate, contribute to development," she added.
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According to data from the Environment and Forestry Ministry, as of December 13, 2021, the status recognition or establishment of customary/indigenous forests has reached 69,147 hectares of the total 1,090,755 hectares of the indicated customary forest areas.
Meanwhile, expert staff at the Presidential Staff Office (KSP), Theo Litaay, said that the government has been trying to accelerate the implementation of social forestry programs, including the status determination of customary forests.
The KSP is monitoring the discussion on a draft presidential regulation on integrated planning for the acceleration of social forestry management, he informed.
"One of the important things is that the adoption (of the regulation) by local governments in some provinces can already run but some are still in progress," he said.
Based on information provided on its website, AMAN is an independent civil organization whose members have been drawn from Indigenous Peoples’ communities around the archipelago.
The organization accepts donations on its webpage www.aman.or.id/donation.
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Translator: Prisca V, Kenzu T
Editor: Suharto
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