JAKARTA (Indonesia) Indigenous communities across Indonesia have lost more than 11.7 million hectares of customary land over the past decade as industrial and extractive activities expand into ancestral territories, rights groups said in a report released this week. The study, released by the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN), the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities and allied organizations, documented nearly 700 land conflicts linked to mining, logging, oil and gas, geothermal development and other commercial ventures that have displaced communities and eroded traditional landholdings.
Customary land, locally known as “adat” territories, forms the basis of cultural identity, livelihood and ecological stewardship for Indigenous groups, who make up an estimated 18 to 26 percent of Indonesia’s population, with tens of millions living in forest and coastal landscapes. These lands, covering roughly 33.6 million hectares, are crucial for biodiversity conservation, carbon storage and food security, but rights groups say formal legal recognition remains minimal and slow to materialize.
According to the report, government statistics show that less than 1 percent of more than 25 million hectares of Indigenous territories have been formally recognized through legal titles, leaving the vast majority vulnerable to commercial concession allocations. Industrial concession holders, including palm oil, forestry and mining companies, now operate on tens of millions of hectares that overlap with customary lands, exacerbating conflicts and undermining local tenure security.
Rights advocates say this legal limbo has deep historical roots. Under colonial and post-independence legal frameworks, much forest land was declared state territory, sidelining traditional adat systems and enabling the state to award concessions without meaningful consultation or consent from Indigenous communities. Although a 2013 constitutional court ruling affirmed Indigenous rights to customary forests, community leaders say the implementation process remains cumbersome, costly and skewed in favor of powerful commercial interests.
The report highlighted cases such as the O’Hongana Manyawa, a nomadic forest community in Halmahera, whose ancestral territory has been overlapped by more than 65,000 hectares of mining concessions held by at least 19 companies, forcing routine patrols and resistance by community members. Other documented conflicts involve palm oil expansion into Indigenous lands, where plantations, covering about 14 million hectares nationwide, have been linked to widespread deforestation, loss of livelihood and cultural disruption.
The report comes amid broader tensions in Indonesia over land use and natural resource governance. Government efforts to crack down on illegal resource exploitation have resulted in the seizure of millions of hectares of plantations and mining operations, with authorities levying fines on firms operating in protected forest areas. However, community representatives argue that enforcement measures have sometimes disadvantaged local smallholders while failing to address the core issue of Indigenous land rights and tenure security.
Legal recognition of Indigenous land rights has seen limited progress in 2025, with only a fraction of identified customary forests formally acknowledged by authorities despite pledges by government officials at international climate negotiations to expand recognition. Critics say stalled legislation and contradictory policies continue to sideline Indigenous voices in national planning and climate strategy, even as their lands are seen as a key component of Indonesia’s commitment to reduce deforestation and carbon emissions.
In some regions, communities have secured incremental victories through participatory mapping and legal battles, winning recognition for hundreds or thousands of hectares of customary land. On Flores Island, the Gendang Ngkiong community gained formal recognition for 892 hectares, while in North Sumatra the Ompu Umbak Siallagan community achieved legal acknowledgment after prolonged conflict with pulp concessions. These successes are cited by advocates as models for scaling up community-led land recognition efforts.
Indigenous leaders are urging the government to adopt stronger protections, including enshrining Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) as a legal requirement for all investment projects affecting customary lands and accelerating the passage of comprehensive Indigenous rights legislation. They argue that full recognition and financing for Indigenous stewardship are essential to safeguard cultural heritage, protect forests and contribute to Indonesia’s climate and development goals.
The findings are expected to sharpen focus on Indigenous land rights at upcoming international forums, where indigenous coalitions are pushing for commitments that embed land tenure security, defense of land defenders and direct support for community-based management into global climate and sustainable development policy.
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