Forest and land-use governance in a decentralized Indonesia: A legal and policy review

Abstract

Which levels of government hold powers over forests and land use in Indonesia? Which powers and responsibilities are centralized, and which are decentralized? What role can citizens play? This report reviews the statutory distribution of powers and responsibilities across levels and sectors. It outlines the legal mandates held by national, regional and local governments with regard to land and forests, including titling, forest concessions, oil and minerals investments, oil palm plantations, conservation, land use planning, and more. The review considers national legislation as of 2014 and incorporates important reforms in early 2015. After a short introduction, the second section describes the decentralization process, including mechanisms for public participation. The third section outlines sources of revenue available to different government levels from forest fees and payments for environmental services. The fourth section details the specific distribution of powers and arenas of responsibility related to multiple land use sectors across levels and among offices within levels, and the fifth and final section refers specifically to adat law. Summary tables are included for each different policy arena to facilitate analysis across government levels and functions: policy making, administration, control and monitoring, auditing and sanction. The study was commissioned under CIFOR’s Global Comparative Study on REDD+, as part of a research project on multilevel governance and carbon management at the landscape scale. It is intended as a reference for researchers and policy makers working on land use issues in Indonesia.