1 | Indonesian Journal
of Science
& Technology,
6 Issue
2, (2021)
September
2021 Hal xx-xx
Indonesian
Journal
of Science &Volume
Technology
6 (2)
299-314

Indonesian Journal of Science & Technology
Journal homepage: http://ejournal.upi.edu/index.php/ijost/

Forest Cover Change and Legal Pluralism in Forest
Management: A Review and Evidence from West
Sumatra, Indonesia
R. Rudy1, Y. Yonariza2, Helvi Yanfika3, Ali Rahmat4,5, Winih Sekaringtyas Ramadhani3 dan Abdul Mutolib6
1

Law Department, Faculty of Law, Universitas Lampung, Bandar Lampung, 35141 Indonesia
2
Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Andalas, Padang, West Sumatra, 25163 Indonesia
3
Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Lampung, Bandar Lampung, 35141 Indonesia
4
Research Center for Limnology, Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia, Bogor, 16911 Indonesia
5
Gifu University, Gifu, Japan
6
Postgraduate Program, Universitas Siliwangi, Tasikmalaya 46115 Indonesia
Correspondence: E-mail: rudy.1981@fh.unila.ac.id

ABSTRACT
This study analyzed the functions of shifting (phenomenon of
legal pluralism) and identified forest conversion at
Production Forest Management Unit of Dharmasraya (PFMU
Dharmasraya), West Sumatra, Indonesia from March 2018 to
December 2019 using a qualitative research design with a
case study approach. The identification of changes in forest
cover analyzed by satellite images using the NDVI method to
obtain the distribution of forest cover. Discussion on legal
pluralism were examined using a non-ethnographic
qualitative research approach through interviews with local
communities, companies/permit holders, and related
institutions (government). From 2000 to 2019, the PFMU
Dharmasraya forest area reduced from 86 to 12%, and
plantations increased from 10 to 81% of the total area of
33,539 ha. The legal pluralism of forest ownership occurs
because local communities use traditional law, claiming the
PFMU Dharmasraya area as Ulayat land. In contrast, the
government claims the forest belongs to the state. The
motives for the conversion of forest functions are the
expansion of oil palm and rubber plantations, forest clearing
to mark forest ownership rights, and illegal logging.
© 2021 Tim Pengembang Jurnal UPI

ARTICLE INFO
Article History:

Submitted/Received 28 Sep 2020
First revised 2 Mar 2021
Accepted 14 May 2021
First available online 15 May 2021
Publication date 01 Sep 2021
____________________
Keywords:
Customary land,
Forest conversion,
Illegal logging,
Legal pluralism,

Rudi et al. Forest Cover Change and Legal Pluralism in Forest Management … | 300

1. INTRODUCTION
Global deforestation rates in the past two
decades have increased from 5.6 million to
9.1 million hectares per year. Southeast Asia
has the highest deforestation in the world,
losing around 32 million hectares of forests
from 1990 to 2010 (Stibig et al., 2014).
During this period, Indonesia contributed
61% of the deforestation rate in Southeast
Asia. Indonesia has a forest area of
124,022,848.67 hectares, which consists of
protection forests covering an area of
29,917,582.84 hectares, production forests
covering an area of 72,109,280,489 hectares,
and conservation forests covering an area of
23,7398,580.26 hectares. From 2000 to
2012, Indonesia lost 6 million hectares of
primary forest (Margono et al., 2014).
Deforestation is a global environmental issue
because it is a source of greenhouse gas
emissions (including the contribution of landuse change) and considered to threaten
biodiversity (Rahmat & Mutolib 2016;
Pendrill et al., 2019).
Many factors caused deforestation in
Indonesia, namely overcoming economic
pressures and population growth (Imai et al.,
2018), agricultural and plantation expansion
(Ting et al., 2011; Vijay et al., 2016; Garrett et
al., 2018), illegal logging (Tacconi et al.,
2019), development of oil palm plantations
(Austin et al., 2017), housing development,
road construction, and forest fires (Purnomo
et al., 2017).
In the forestry development context,
decentralized forest management aims to
divide the roles and responsibilities of forest
management between communities and
government (Poudyal et al., 2020). The
division of the role of forest management has
been conducted both to State-Owned
Enterprise (SOEs), private parties, and
community. Several studies have shown that
local communities can preserve forests as in
Tanzania (Massawe, 2011), and the Brazilian
Amazon (Zimmerman, 2011). But at the
same time, decentralization has encouraged

local communities to claim rights to forest
areas as Ulayat/adat land (Mutolib et al.,
2016). It has resulted in deforestation and
conflict over forest ownership in several
regions of Indonesia (Purnomo & Anand,
2014).
Private
companies
and
SOEs
involvement in the Dharmasraya PFMU
forest management proved unable to
manage forests well. Forest management in
the PFMU Dharmasraya has a long history. In
1982, a forest permit granted to PT. Ragusa,
in the form of Forest Management Rights
(FMR), after its expiration, in 2002, Forest
management was given to PT. Inhutani with
an Industrial Plantation Forest (IPF) permit,
and in 2013 the PFMU Dharmasraya formed.
Forest management by the private sector
and the government does not make the
forest better. Instead, it is going beyond far
from better based on its sustainability
aspect. Forests managed by private
companies and the government cause
conflicts over forest ownership with local
communities. Local community claims
against forests in the PFMU Dharmasraya
area follow the Minangkabau adat law, which
accepts the existence of Ulayat land in West
Sumatra. The local community's claim to the
forest is used by those who have an interest
in the woods to clear forest.
Legal pluralism defined as a situation
where two or more legal systems work side
by side in an area of social life (Griffiths,
1986) or describe a situation in which two or
more legal systems interact in one social life.
Legal pluralism in the Dharmasraya PFMU
region harms forests. Massive conversion of
forests caused the community to seize and
open rubber and oil palm plantations. The
local community's motives (indigenous
peoples) in clearing production forests
(legally owned by the government) because
the community considers the position of adat
law in forest ownership is higher than state
law.
Deforestation and forest conversion
facts in the PFMU Dharmasraya area
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conducted by local/indigenous communities
are fascinating to study. General facts
provide an overview that if ownership and
management of forests is given to
local/indigenous communities. Then they
could preserve the forest from damage and
other things, better than any other party
(Massawe, 2011; Zimmerman, 2011). Also,
many parties consider local/indigenous
communities to be the only ones capable of
preserving the forest. However, the facts in
the Dharmasraya PFMU in which the local
community is involved in forest clearing and
conversion are different from general facts
about local communities and forest
sustainability. This research aims to analyze
the conversion of forest functions and legal
pluralism phenomena and identify the
motives and causes of forest conversion in
the PFMU Dharmasraya.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1.

Deforestation in Indonesia

Deforestation refers to a conversion of
forest area for non-forest purposes, such as
agricultural or development purposes (Ken et
al., 2020). It is a problem that often occurs
in tropical developing countries (Kissinger,
2020) that diminishes biological diversity and
worsening greenhouse effects (Pravedello et
al., 2019. There are two categories of cause
of deforestation (Angelsen & Kaimowitz,
1999), direct and indirect factors. The first
category, i.e., the direct factor, involves
factors directly associated with land
degradation, while the second category, i.e.,
indirect factor, includes social background
factors that trigger the direct factor. Geist
and Lambin (2002), based on their analysis of
deforestation patterns in 152 countries,
mention three dominant sources of
deforestation,
namely,
agricultural
expansion, forest logging, and infrastructure
development. These factors interact with five
primary factors, including demographic,

economic, technological, policy, and cultural
variables (Geist & Lambin, 2002).
In Indonesia, 50.5 million ha, or 40.71%
of Indonesian forest has been damaged
between 1985 until 2013. The conversion of
forests into palm oil plantations is the main
driver of deforestation in Indonesia (Tacconi
et al., 2019). Palm oil plantation expanded by
2.2 million Ha in 1996, then 5.4 million Ha in
2006, and 11.6 million ha in 2016. Massive
deforestation results in higher carbon
emission and risks of biological diversity loss
(Murray et al., 2015). High global demands
on agricultural commodities, rising rice
prices, and land resources privatization are
the drivers of massive palm oil plantation
expansion, especially in a land with unclear
ownership status like peat swamp forests
(Miettinen et al., 2012). Deforestation is also
caused by increases in coffee and cocoa
production on a small-medium scale (Ordway
et al., 2017).
2.2.

Legal Pluralism in Community

Legal pluralism, in general, is defined as
a situation where one or more legal systems
work together in the same field of social life
(Griffiths, 1986). Benda-Beckman (1989)
defines it as a condition where one or more
legal systems or institutions work
simultaneously in people activities and
relationships. In the field of legal pluralism,
the state law exists on one hand while on the
other hand, the community laws also prevail
(the law that principally does not stem from
the state’s law), which such as customary
law, religious law, tradition, or other social
conventions that are viewed as a law.
The concept of legal pluralism could be
distinguished into two types, strong legal
pluralism and weak legal pluralism
(Tamanaha, 2008). The former is another
form of legal centralism since, despite the
state law’s recognition of other legal
systems, the state law is viewed as superior
in the state's legal hierarchy. Meanwhile, the
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latter refers to the presence of a plurality of
legal systems in the community. Thus, there
is no hierarchy indicating that one legal
system is more dominant than the others
(Benda-Beckmann & Turner, 2018).
2.2.1. Land tenure and legal pluralism
Land tenure system describes the rights
of the land. These rights are seldom held by
only one party. A land parcel may be held by
several parties who hold different types of
rights upon the land, known as “bundle of
rights” (Gilbert, 2013). In the Indonesian
context, an example of bundle of rights could
be seen in national parks where the state
holds their ownership right and every citizen
holds the right to visit and enjoy their natural
beauty (Pratomo et al., 2020), while the
community who lives around or in those
national parks holds the right to use the
natural resources for their welfare, which is
limited to the right to collect forest products
(Ifrani et al., 2019).
The relationship between natural
resources ownership rights and legal
pluralism may vary from a community to
another. A community may prefer a law that
brings advantage over individuals (Bedner &
Arizona, 2019). In natural resource conflicts,
every party brings their claim based on their
local knowledge and power relation they
understand (Assche et al., 2017). The
disputing party would apply a certain law
that strengthens their claim and brings them
advantages over other parties. Such a
process is known as “forum shopping”
(Benda-Beckmann, 1989). This was what
happened in PMFU Dharmasraya, where the
local community preferred customary law as
their basis to claim their ownership upon the
forest, making them feel rightful to control
and clear the land
2.2.2. Conflict and legal pluralism in Forest
Management: A case study
The literature on forest management in
Indonesia noted some land ownership
conflicts between indigenous people and the

state/the forest companies. In general, these
conflicts deal with the claim of forest
ownership (Muur, 2018). These conflicts
occur because the state and companies
exploit the forest land to open plantation
areas. As a reaction, indigenous people seize
the forest from companies and turn it into
their own plantation area (Sylviani & Hakim,
2014; Mutolib et al., 2017).
Forest conflicts due to different claims of
forest ownership are found in many
countries with indigenous communities,
especially in the Southeast Asian region
(Yasmi et al., 2013). These conflicts occur
because of the different legal bases for
claiming the rights upon the forest (Moeliono
et al., 2017). In Myanmar, forest conflicts
arise because the customary law is inferior to
the state law, which makes the government
transfers the right to manage the forest to
private parties for investment reasons. In
northern Thailand, conflicts in natural
resources management occur due to
different interests and goals (Dhiaulhaq et
al., 2017).
Meanwhile, in Indonesia, forest and
tenurial conflicts could not be separated
from the aspect of legal pluralism (Mutolib et
al., 2017). In West Nusa Tenggara, conflict
arises between indigenous people and a
logging company that received a
management permit from the government
(Magdalena, 2013). Meanwhile, in West
Rinjani, the Indigenous people conflicted
with a company and the government, they
claimed that the forest belongs to adat forest
and turned it into a plantation area (Handoko
& Yumantoko, 2015). Another conflict occurs
in Rimbo Donok protected forest, Bengkulu
Province, between the indigenous people
and the government due to the prohibition to
manage protected forest areas. At the same
time, people claimed the forest as a
customary land they could manage (Senoaji
et al., 2019). In some places in South
Sulawesi, conflicts occur because both
government and indigenous people claimed
forest ownership (Muur, 2018).
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Indonesia is prone to forest conflict as
indigenous people, with their customary law,
may claim a forest area as customary forest.
Accordingly, it is necessary to have
collaboration between the government,
indigenous people, and involving parties to
settle tenurial issues in Indonesia.
2.3. Customary Land in West Sumatra
Under Article 1 of the West Sumatra
Regional Regulation (Perda Sumatra Barat)
no. 16 of 2008 on Customary Land and its
Use, customary land is defined as a
hereditary land parcel and natural resources
therein that belongs to the customary right
of the indigenous people. Customary right,
according to Minangkabau teachings in West
Sumatra Province, refers to a power or
authority held by the indigenous community
over certain spaces or areas where they live
to enjoy the natural resources to survive
(Fatmi, 2018; Warman & Andora, 2014).
Customary right is the highest ownership
right upon spaces and area in Minangkabau
(Hidayat, 2015).
Customary land does not only belong to
the present community but also to the future
generation. Customary right bears three
dimensions: first, Customary right as a right
upon the land the people inherit from their
ancestors, the founder of their Nagari (Nagari
is a traditional organization considered the
smallest local government unit in West
Sumatra). Second, customary right serves as
an equal right held by all Nagari people; and
third, customary right as a right that belongs
to the present and future generation
(Warman & Andora, 2014).
The customary right covers a range of
aspects contained in water, land, and
airspace in Minangkabau territory (Jonaidi,
2018). However, in practice, Minangkabau
people often see customary rights and
customary land as the same matter since
they assume that water and airspace are
inseparable elements of a land.

3. RESEARCH METHODS
3.1. Research Location and Time
The research location is in the Regency
of Dharmasraya, West Sumatra Province.
Geographically the area of the Dhamasraya
Regency is in the southeastern tip of West
Sumatra with geographic coordinates
between 000 47 '7 "- 010 41" 56 "South
Latitude and 1010 9" 21 "east longitude 1010 54" 27 "East Longitude. The condition
and topography of the Dhamasraya Regency
are mostly flat land with elevations from 82
meters to 5,525 meters above sea level. The
area covers 2,961.13 km2/296,113 Hectares
and there are divided into eleven districts
and 52 villages. Specifically, the research
location is in the working area of the PFMU
Dharmasraya, which covers an area of 32,749
hectares of production forest (Mutolib et al.,
2017).
Administratively,
the
PFMU
Dharmasraya is part of the Nagari (Village)
Bonjol and Abai Siat areas in the Koto Besar
District, and Nagari Sikabau and the Sungai
Dareh in the Pulau Punjung Sub-District. By
adat law, forests in the work area of the
PFMU Dharmasraya are communal land
owned by local communities from those four
villages.
Research time divided into two stages.
The first phase is a preliminary study that
aims to identify the location of the research
and identify problems that occur related to
forest management in March 2018. After the
initial analysis, the problem formulation and
research objectives arranged by the findings
that have been collected in the preliminary
research. According to exploratory analysis,
data collection to answer the problem
formulation and research objectives was
conducted from February to December 2019.
3.2. Research Methods and Data Sources
The study used a qualitative research
design with a case study approach.
Qualitative research format aims to describe,
summarize various conditions, situations, or
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phenomena of social reality, and try to pull
that reality to the surface as a characteristic,
character, nature, model, or description of a
particular
condition,
situation,
or
phenomenon, or research for collect and
analyze data in the form of words (oral and
written) and human actions and not try to
quantify the data that has been obtained.
The data type used in this study is
primary data and secondary data. Primary
data were obtained through key informant
interviews,
direct
observation,
and
documentation. Secondary data were
obtained from literature searches/literature
studies and reports/documents from various
agencies related to research studies.
The identification of forest cover
changes was analyzed by satellite imagery.
Map
Obtained
from
the
earthexplorer.usgs.gov
website
and
downloaded by the data of the year that
searched. Landsat map data processed using
the NDVI method to obtain cover distribution
in PFMU Dharmasraya. NDVI (Normalized
Difference Vegetation Index) is a
mathematical combination between the red
band and the NIR (Near-Infrared) band used
to facilitate the use and vegetation. The high
and low density of vegetation is known by
using NDVI. NDVI values range from -1
(negative) to 1 (positive). NDVI-based
vegetation index has a value of -1 (nonvegetation) to 1 (vegetation). Areas that have
an NDVI vegetation level value below 0.2
means that area is not include in the
vegetation group (can be open or rocky land).
Areas above 0.4 have areas covered by
vegetation with moderate density. The index
results adjusted to the actual conditions on
the original map (composite band 4-3-2
results).
NDVI results corrected by natural
composite bands (bands 4-3-2). This merger
aims to facilitate the analysis of NDVI data
processing from Landsat imagery. NDVI
calculations are (NIR - Red)/(NIR - Red).
Image processing using Arc GIS 10.3.
Calculation of the area of land use data using

the raster calculator tools—threshold values
adjusted to the actual state of the original
composite band results.
Research related to legal pluralism is
reviewed by non-ethnographic qualitative
research because researchers do not involve
in the community group's social life to collect
data. Key informants are from local
communities, companies/permit holders,
relevant authorities (government), and
buyers who are gardening in the work area of
PMFU Dharmasraya. Key informants from
the local community consisted of Wali
Nagari, KAN Chairperson, Ninik Mamak,
Ulayat ruler to gather information related to
Ulayat management and how to link the
release of Ulayat land. Determination of
informants using snowball sampling.
3.3. Data Analysis Technique
Data analysis has been conducted since
formulating and explaining the problem,
before going into the field, and continuing
until writing the results of research or
analysis that is ongoing. Data collection and
analysis activities in this study are not
separate from each other. Both take place
simultaneously, and the process takes the
form of a cycle. This study uses interactive
model data analysis, which consists of three
stages: data reduction, data display, and
concluding/verification. Analysis of satellite
imagery to analyze land cover and land area
in the work area of the PFMU Dharmasraya
since 2000 and 2019 using spatial/GIS
analysis (Rahmat et al., 2018). The land cover
analysis uses NDVI (Normalized Difference
Vegetation Index) data processing from
Landsat 7 images (in 2000) and Landsat 8
(2019). The analytical tool used is ArcGis
10.3.
4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1.

Research Area Overview

PFMU Dharmasraya is in the area of
Dhamasraya Regency, West Sumatra
Province. PFMU Dharmasraya where
geographically located at coordinates 01
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03'30 "South Latitude-01 22'00" South
Latitude and 0 0 101 24'30 "East Longitude101 38'00" East Longitude. Administratively,
the PFMU Dharmasraya located in Pulau
Punjung and Koto Besar Sub-District.
The PFMU Dharmasraya is 33,539.9
hectares of Permanent Production Forests
and Limited Production Forests. The PFMU
Dharmasraya was form based on the
proposal of the Regent of Dhamasraya
according
to
letter
Number
130/684/BPT/VIII-2013 dated August 2,
2013, and determined based on the Decree
of the Minister of Forestry of the Republic of
Indonesia No. SK. 695/Menhut-II/2013,
dated October 21, 2013.
Based on its history, the Dharmasraya
PFMU area has experienced several times of
permit changes. In 1972 this forest area was
a Forest Concession (FC) granted to PT.
Ragusa with an area of ± 66,000 hectares.
After the FC's expiration in 2002, a portion of
the FC area became a production forest that
could be approved and granted by the
Cultivation Rights to three oil palm plantation
companies, namely PT. Raya Raya, PT. SMP
and PT. AWB with an area of 32,450 hectares.
The remaining concessions of PT. Ragusa
covering an area of 32,749.95 hectares was
then given to three utilization permit holders,
namely PT. Inhutani, Dara Silva, and Bukit
Raya Mudisa (BRM) as Industrial Plantation
Forests (IPF). In 2013, IPF, which was control
by Dhara Silva, Inhutani, and BRM, was
established as the PFMU Dharmasraya. The
function of the PFMU Dharmasraya is
following Government Regulation No. 6 of
2007 Jo Government Regulation No. 3 of
2008 concerning Forest Management,
Preparation of Forest Management Plans,
and Forest Utilization, namely carrying out
site/field level forest management, carrying
out the duties and functions of the Forestry
Service
such as organizing forest
administration.

4.2.

Forest Cover Change

Satellite images analysis in the PFMU
Dharmasraya area was conduct in two
stages. The first phase was in the range of
2000 to 2014. The year 2000 was chosen
because of the permits expiration period of
the PT. Ragusa, and in 2013 the PFMU
Dharmasraya permits covering 33,539
hectares of production forest was granted by
the Ministry of Forestry of the Republic of
Indonesia.
Land cover analysis in 2000 (the end of
the FMR) to 2014 illustrates that there has
been rapid forest conversion (deforestation).
In 2000 the secondary forest in the PFMU
Dharmasraya was 86%, the area of open land
and plantations was 3% and 10%,
respectively. At the end of 2014, forest cover
in the PFMU Dharmasraya decreased very
significantly, remaining 18%. Plantations
(rubber and palm oil) increased dramatically
from 10% in 2000 to 59% in 2014. Open land
amounted to 10% and shrubs (left logged
forest) around 12% (See Figures 1, 2, and 3).
The results of the analysis of satellite imagery
provide insight that forest conversion in the
PFMU Dharmasraya is happening quickly. It is
interesting to study the factors and motives
underlying the process of forest conversion.
In November 2019, the land cover
analysis was conduct in the PFMU
Dharmasraya area again. The results of
satellite imagery analysis show that in the
PFMU Dharmasraya area dominated by lowdensity vegetation (plantations) which has an
area of 81%, and the field of land that has a
medium-density (secondary forest) is
decreasing, which is only around 12%. In
2014, the area of secondary forests in PFMU
Dharmasraya, it is still approximately 18%.
There has been a massive change in forest
cover and function from 2000 to 2019.

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Figure 1. Forest cover of PFMU Dharmasraya in 2000

Figure 2. Forest cover of PFMU Dharmasraya in 2014

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Figure 3. Forest cover of PFMU Dharmasraya in 2019

Forest cover changes at the PFMU
Dharmasraya supported by easy access
to the forest through the former FMR
project road, the prices rising for rubber
and palm oil, encourage many parties to
open plantation, both local and outside
communities. Agricultural expansion
becomes one of the deforestation causes
(Ting et al., 2011; Dalla-Nora et al., 2014).
It also happened in the work area of the
PFMU Dharmasraya, that the plantation
opening triggered deforestation. Besides,
the forest functions conversion in the
PFMU Dharmasraya was due to local
communities' involvement in the forest
clearing process for plantations. Forest
clearing by local communities is due to
legal pluralism or differences in claims of
forest
ownership between local
communities and the state (and permit
holders). The differences in ownership

claims have led to community conflicts
with the state and permit holders.
People are encouraged to seize and
plant in the forest due to legal pluralism,
in which the community recognizes the
forest as their traditional land. The
community did not recognize the holders
of IPF permits in forest management.
Legal pluralism triggers a forum shopping
where people use a legal basis that is
more in favor of their interests, namely
adat law (Benda-Beckman, 1989). In
conflicts over ownership of natural
resources, every individual in a
community can use various categories to
claim and obtain natural resources
(Ratner et al., 2013). Claims of forests as
Ulayat land are used by local
communities to control forests in the
PFMU Dharmasraya.

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4.3.

Forest Ownership Pluralism:
State Law vs Adat Law

As explained in the previous section,
two legal systems are used in forest
ownership claims in the PFMU
Dharmasraya. Local people use adat law
and claim the PFMU Dharmasraya area as
Ulayat land, and the government claims
the forest belongs to the state. It has
triggered massive deforestation and
land-use change at PFMU Dharmasraya.
The forest conversion phenomenon
in the PFMU Dharmasraya is a weak legal
pluralism form. Unfortunately, it is not
the state law that dominates over
customary law, but vice versa. In some
areas, the majority of adat law is weaker
than the state law, but the case in the
PFMU Dharmasraya is different. It could
happen because Dharmasraya Regency is
a part of the Minangkabau region, whose
people have a high determination in
holding customs, including the adat land
system. In the Minangkabau community,
land management has been regulated
and explained its boundaries very well.
People are encouraged to buy land
at the PFMU Dharmasraya and open a
plantation inside it because of the adat
forests recognition that is higher than
state law. Plantation activities in the
forest are not considered illegal because
they have obtained land under applicable
traditional provisions. Buying and selling
forests in the PFMU Dharmasraya work
area is similar to what happened in Tesso
Nilo National Park, that its deforestation
is caused by local people who see the
forest as Ulayat land (Poor et al., 2019).
Although not permitted by the
government, the transfer of ownership
rights (the sale and purchase of Ulayat
land in the forest) is conduct according to
traditional/adat
provisions.
It
is
considered sufficient as legal proof of
land ownership, and able to provide a

security sense for those who plant in the
forest.
4.4.

“Forum Shopping”: Forest
Tenure Competition at PFMU
Dharmasraya

The competition between the
community and the government occurs
because each party is fighting over the
forest ownership of the PFMU
Dharmasraya with different laws
(Mutolib et al., 2019). Legal pluralism in
the PFMU Dharmasraya area triggered a
forum shopping where the community
used the adat law to support their
interests. Ultimately, legal pluralism
triggers conflicts of interest in forest
management between communities and
the government. Sellers and buyers of
Ulayat forests use adat law as the basis
for legal claims of forest ownership in the
PFMU Dharmasraya.
Due to differences in the law that use
by each party, the community and other
parties who are pro to adat law continue
to clear the forest using adat law claims.
The cleared forest means that the forest
has been owned by the clearing party so
that the company or other party has no
right to possess it. If there are parties
who want to possess that land (especially
the company), then they are required to
compensate with a price range of Rp.
10,000,000 to 15,000,000 per hectares.
This condition is used by many parties,
especially those with the financial power
to clear land in the broadest forest. In the
end, this has an impact on the massive
conversion of forest functions in the
PFMU Dharmasraya.
4.5. Motives for Forest Clearing
The main motive of forest clearing is
the need for plantation expansion.
Another reason behind forest clearing is
to mark property rights. Many parties
open forests only to sign ownership
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rights in the forest. After the forest is
cleared, the owner leaves the land
without planting it. Forest clearing aims
to obtain forest claims. Forests clearing
intended to mark ownership is conduct
with the aim of ensuring forest
ownership. Thus, it can be planted in the
future, providing forest ownership rights
and obtaining compensation from
companies holding IPF permit if the
company intends to take over the forest.
Forest clearing in the PFMU Dharmasraya
area is carried out by burning it because
it is considered more effective and
efficient. Forest burning activities are
often found in the PFMU Dharmasraya.
Another motive for forest clearing at
the PFMU Dharmasraya is illegal logging.
From the adat law perspective, logging is
not unlawful. Communities can take
wood if they have obtained permission
from the Ulayat authorities. It is a form of
forum shopping in legal pluralism where
the community only uses adat law to
utilize the forest through logging. Finally,
to against this problem, additional
education is important (Soegoto et al.,
2021; Maryanti et al., 2021; Mohamad &
Masek, 2021).
5. CONCLUSION
Forest
conversion
in
PFMU
Dharmasraya happened very fast and
massive. In 2000 forest area was 86% of
the total area of 33,539 hectares, and the
plantation area was 10%. In 2019 the
remaining forest area in the PFMU
Dharmasraya remained 12%, and the
plantation area increased significantly to

81%. The legal pluralism of forest
ownership in the PFMU Dharmasraya
occurs because local communities use
adat law and claim the PFMU
Dharmasraya area as Ulayat land. In
contrast, the government claims the
forest as state property. Legal pluralism
in the PFMU Dharmasraya is a weak legal
pluralism form, in which adat law
dominates state law in forest ownership
claims. Legal pluralism in the PFMU
Dharmasraya area triggered a forum
shopping in which the community used
an adat law as a basis rather than state
law for forest ownership because it was
more beneficial for access to open and
sell the land the forest. There are three
motives for forest clearing in the PFMU
Dharmasraya, namely expansion of oil
palm and rubber plantations, forest
clearing to mark forest property rights,
and illegal logging by communities of
Ulayat landowners.
6. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to thank the
Dharmasraya
Community
Service,
Production Forest Management Unit of
Dharmasraya, all the respondents and
informant to support this research.
7. AUTHORS’ NOTE
Authors declare that there is no
conflict of interest regarding the
publication of this article. Authors
confirmed that the paper was free of
plagiarism.

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