Keywords Peatland · Customary right to clear the land · Colonial declaration of
state land · Woeste grond · State forest area
23.1 Introduction
In developing countries, forest tenure conditions tend to be contested, overlapping,
and insecure (RRI 2008; Sunderlin et al. 2008; White and Martin 2002). These
challenging conditions result from state appropriation of forests that began centuries
ago (RRI 2012).
Many factors have caused peatland degradation, such as the large-scale cultivation of oil palms, acacia timber plantations, large-scale drainage, dried peatland (that
is vulnerable to fire), peatland fires, and inflow of migrants to peat dome areas,
among others.
Most of the peatland in Sumatra is state land (tanah negara) from the ownership
point of view. It is a government-controlled state forest area (kawasan hutan) from
the forestry policy point of view. Insecure land tenure in the state forest in Sumatra
has already been pointed out (Suryanto et al. 2005), but how about land tenure
conditions in peatlands? What is the relationship between land tenure on peatland
and peatland degradation?
In principle, peatland is not suitable for cultivation because once it is exploited it
shows characteristics of acid sulfate soil, as well as subsidence, disappearance, and
degradation (Furukawa 1992, pp. 25–31). Peatlands create peat domes and peat
swamp forests. Traditionally people settled at the margins of the dome in the peat
swamp forest where mineral soils existed along with peatland or alluvial land along
the river. Almost no large-scale settlements have been found within the peat domes.
These realities are closely related to the fact that the majority of peatlands are state
forest and state land.
Recent peatland degradation is closely related to peatland use, especially for oil
palm cultivation and acacia timber plantations, which necessitate large-scale drainage. The latter has resulted in the formation of dried peatlands that are highly
vulnerable to fire and degradation (Mizuno et al. 2016).
Peatlands have existed for hundreds of thousands of years or more. However, large-scale degradation and large-scale fires have become widespread beginning in the 1980s and the 1990s in Indonesia. On the other hand, peatland
exploitation for industry began in the nineteenth century in Riau, Sumatra, with
the development of the panglong businesses. Along with the development of the
enterprises in the peatland area, how have the types of businesses and the land tenure
system changed? What impact do these have on peatland degradation? How have
people traditionally used peatland, and how has land tenure evolved? What is the
relationship between customary rights on land, land tenure, and the state’s idea of
state land and state forest? This paper attempts to trace these changes since the
middle of the nineteenth century, especially in Riau’s vast peatlands.
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K. Mizuno et al.
state land · Woeste grond · State forest area
23.1 Introduction
In developing countries, forest tenure conditions tend to be contested, overlapping,
and insecure (RRI 2008; Sunderlin et al. 2008; White and Martin 2002). These
challenging conditions result from state appropriation of forests that began centuries
ago (RRI 2012).
Many factors have caused peatland degradation, such as the large-scale cultivation of oil palms, acacia timber plantations, large-scale drainage, dried peatland (that
is vulnerable to fire), peatland fires, and inflow of migrants to peat dome areas,
among others.
Most of the peatland in Sumatra is state land (tanah negara) from the ownership
point of view. It is a government-controlled state forest area (kawasan hutan) from
the forestry policy point of view. Insecure land tenure in the state forest in Sumatra
has already been pointed out (Suryanto et al. 2005), but how about land tenure
conditions in peatlands? What is the relationship between land tenure on peatland
and peatland degradation?
In principle, peatland is not suitable for cultivation because once it is exploited it
shows characteristics of acid sulfate soil, as well as subsidence, disappearance, and
degradation (Furukawa 1992, pp. 25–31). Peatlands create peat domes and peat
swamp forests. Traditionally people settled at the margins of the dome in the peat
swamp forest where mineral soils existed along with peatland or alluvial land along
the river. Almost no large-scale settlements have been found within the peat domes.
These realities are closely related to the fact that the majority of peatlands are state
forest and state land.
Recent peatland degradation is closely related to peatland use, especially for oil
palm cultivation and acacia timber plantations, which necessitate large-scale drainage. The latter has resulted in the formation of dried peatlands that are highly
vulnerable to fire and degradation (Mizuno et al. 2016).
Peatlands have existed for hundreds of thousands of years or more. However, large-scale degradation and large-scale fires have become widespread beginning in the 1980s and the 1990s in Indonesia. On the other hand, peatland
exploitation for industry began in the nineteenth century in Riau, Sumatra, with
the development of the panglong businesses. Along with the development of the
enterprises in the peatland area, how have the types of businesses and the land tenure
system changed? What impact do these have on peatland degradation? How have
people traditionally used peatland, and how has land tenure evolved? What is the
relationship between customary rights on land, land tenure, and the state’s idea of
state land and state forest? This paper attempts to trace these changes since the
middle of the nineteenth century, especially in Riau’s vast peatlands.
628
K. Mizuno et al.