Mediation and Agreement of Forestry Cooperation as a Conflict Settlement of Bumi Mekar Hijau LLC Production Forest Area With Community of Riding Village (Case study of Riding village, Ogan Komering Ilir Regency, South Sumatra Indonesia)

Abstract

Conflicts in forest areas usually occur due to unclear rights or laws relating to the tenure system. This can happen between individuals, communities, government agencies or private sector. This study aims to determine conflict dynamics and mediation as a process to resolve the conflict of production forest area. This study is a qualitative research with descriptive data presentation. The Riding Village occupied around 10,000 hectares land because they felt that the company and the government had never asked their permission to make the land an industrial planted forest. The community has evidences that the land belongs to their ancestors, namely “sonor” (planting rice by burning land first) and trenches for timber by their ancestors in the region. In July 2013, the people of Riding Village and Bumi Mekar Hijau LLC agreed to resolve land conflicts through an open, concrete and successful dialogue process. Both parties appointed Wahana Bumi Hijau (WBH) and Imparsial Mediator Networking (IMN) as mediators who assisted the negotiation process. On March 16, 2017 process has taken place, both parties agreed a settlement in Riding village with Bumi Mekar Hijau LLC for 10,000 hectares area.