Following the international conference on tenure and forest governance held in Lombok during July 2011, discussions in Indonesia are moving forward with a series of workshops to design a roadmap for forest land tenure reform in Indonesia. At the most recent workshop, held in Yogyakarta on 8–9 March 2012, CIFOR scientists Pablo Pacheco and Moira Moeliono contributed to the discussions with this presentation on lessons learned from CIFOR’s research. The presentation discusses what lessons can be learned from tenure reform in Latin America in order to move forward with tenure reform in Indonesia.

1. FOREST TENURE REFORMS:
Lessons from an evolving process
Pablo Pacheco and Moira Moeliono
March 2012 — Yogyakarta, Indonesia
THINKING beyond the canopy

2. Outline
 Context of the reforms
 Outcomes from the reforms
 Main lessons learned
 The Indonesian process
 Ways to move forward
THINKING beyond the canopy

3. Context of the reforms
 Tenure reforms are an increasingly
expanding process; long experience
of tenure reforms in Latin America
with mixed outcomes; provides
important lessons
 Motivations driving these reforms
have been diverse, and how reforms
have been implemented (e.g. bottom-
up and top-down approaches)
 Tenure reforms gradually comprised
forest landscapes (notably in the
Amazon region) where recognition of
tenure rights has been adapted to
diverse local conditions and needs THINKING beyond the canopy

4. Outcomes from the tenure reforms
 Tenure reforms bring opportunities for local people to
improve their living conditions and help the forests
 Yet there are associated risks since reforms tend to reflect
the balance of powers in the economy and society
 Tenure reforms are affected by regulations in other
sectors, institutional constraints and market conditions
(e.g. agro-extractive reserves in the Brazilian Amazon)
THINKING beyond the canopy

5. Main lessons learned
 Need to harmonize rights with responsibilities
 Different tenure arrangements are necessary
 Implementation is fundamental, with flexibility
 Tenure is not only about recognizing rights
 State, at different levels, should be a facilitator
THINKING beyond the canopy

6. Rights with responsibilities
 Desirable to grant as many rights as possible (i.e.
access, withdrawal, management, exclusion) — but
along with clear responsibilities / some conditional
 In most cases in Latin America, the states retain
some management and the alienation rights
 It is important to uncouple land use from land status
— considering that forests are important for rational
land use then it should not matter who owns them
 Customary rights need to be recognized – the issue
is how to make the notion of customary rights
operational, and who is entitled to these rights
(lessons to learn from Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia)
THINKING beyond the canopy

7. Adopt diverse arrangements
 Rights can be granted through
diverse types of arrangements
of rights and responsibilities
 Diverse tenure arrangements
are possible, such as in Brazil,
Bolivia, Mexico, Nicaragua:
indigenous territories, extractive
reserves, forest settlements,
community concessions, etc.
 These arrangements are
adapted to local conditions (e.g.
Source: Carvalheiro, K. et al. 2008. Trilhas da regularizacao
strengths of local institutions, fundiaria. CIFOR, CIM, FASE. Belem, Brazil.
how resources are managed)
THINKING beyond the canopy

8. Implementation is key
 Different actors, with diverse powers, compete; thus,
the reform process may reinforce asymmetries and
exclude the most disadvantaged groups (e.g. women)
 Anticipating conflict among smallholders,
communities, and third-party actors is necessary, so
put in place mechanisms for conflict resolution
 The process has to consider, among others: enough
time and resources for local people’s involvement in
the analysis and negotiation of tenure options, and
sufficient participation in the adoption of agreements
 Mechanisms must be in place for learning, adapting
and reorienting the process (e.g. some multi-
stakeholder negotiation platforms in Bolivia)
THINKING beyond the canopy

9. Tenure is not enough
 Tenure reform is not only about distributing land to
poor farmers but also about putting in place
incentives and support for enhancing people’s
livelihoods
 Local people and communities need to have the
means to realize their rights (e.g. infrastructure,
economic incentives, information, technical support,
others), in order to expand their possible options
 Existing incentive systems need to be realigned in
order to attend the needs and demands from the
people benefiting from enhanced tenure rights – this
is one of the most difficult steps in the reform
THINKING beyond the canopy

10. Supportive role of the State
 The State (central and provincial governments) needs
to play a more active role as facilitator in the process of
reform, but also in effectively enforcing and protecting
the rights granted to the local people (e.g. Brazil)
 It is important to create options for local institutions to
adapt to the changes in the regulations; and to
anticipate the need for resources in providing this
support
 Coordination among different levels of government is
fundamental, with relatively clear assignation of
functions; civil society has an important role to play for
an effective reform (a key actor in Latin America)
THINKING beyond the canopy

11. What does it mean for Indonesia?
 Reform needs to be process-
rather than target-based
 Flexible tenure: different forms of
rights and ownership according
to tradition and needs with
specific conditions for each type
(contracts and certificates)
 The role of the State: the right to
designate forests (as a land use);
regulate and control but not
implement; guarantee security of
rights; and provide support and
services to manage forests
THINKING beyond the canopy

12. What does it mean for Indonesia?
 Land use defined by spatial
planning regulated by the
State, but with active
involvement of stakeholders
 All rights have responsibilities
— using land according to
designated land use,
registering, paying taxes
 Other sectoral regulations have
to be harmonized in
accordance with the goals of
the forest tenure reform
THINKING beyond the canopy

13. Ways to move forward
 Define goals and outcomes, consider unintended
consequences and anticipate problems
 Undertake an inventory of existing rights and uses
 Establish collaborative/participatory approaches and
define roles and responsibilities at all levels (i.e.
community with other agencies at national level)
 Implement extension and information campaigns
 Design government system for registration (at what
level, service points, communication protocols,
safeguards, fees, inspection and control)
 Design and establish conflict resolution mechanisms
THINKING beyond the canopy

14. Final considerations
 Reform is a process, not a quick fix of ongoing
problems, thus requires long-term commitment and a
supporting budget
 Reform only works if all parties are actively involved,
thus ensure mechanisms for full participation
 Reform is an investment not a cost (cost-benefit) where
both costs and benefits are not always to be valued in
monetary terms
 Other issues still to clarify are: how far to decentralize?
Who will monitor, inspect and control? How to enhance
coordination between different levels of government?
THINKING beyond the canopy

15. CIFOR research on forest tenure reforms
http://www.cifor.org/online-library/browse.html
THINKING beyond the canopy