Last May, indigenous peoples in Indonesia won a major victory regarding their rights to customary lands, after a landmark ruling by the country’s Constitutional Court declared state control of customary forests unconstitutional. The ruling theoretically puts 40 million hectares of forest in the hands of indigenous communities. However, over 30 million hectares of customary forests are not yet mapped, leaving communities vulnerable to land grabbing by companies for plantation expansion or other development projects. An indigenous peoples’ rights group has vowed to map millions of hectares of customary land in Indonesia, an ambitious target it hopes will help protect indigenous forests from encroachment by palm oil and pulp and paper concessions. Read More
