March, 2026
Advance Hutan Adat (Customary Forest) to increase indigenous land rights
Challenge
Indigenous people in Bentarum have no formal management rights over their forests, making them vulnerable to external actors and impeding their ability to manage forest areas according to local customs.
Solution
The government’s Hutan Adat process provides the best mechanism to increase indigenous land rights. The entire process first requires Masyarakat Hukum Adat designation, which legally acknowledges a community as indigenous. Their customary areas are then delineated as Wilayah Adat, recognising their traditional ownership. Hutan Adat designation over forest areas within Wilayah Adat then transfers ownership from the state to indigenous people.
Local community members organized an opening ceremony to mark the verification and validation stage of the customary area proposal, a key step toward gaining customary forest status:
Progress
As of December 2025, we are working with 11 indigenous communities to obtain Masyarakat Hukum Adat. This forms part of applications to have 395,660-hectares in 11 villages designated as Wilayah Adat and 119,126-hectares of forest designated as Hutan Adat.
