Contested Land: An Analysis of Multi-Layered Conflicts in Jambi Province, Sumatra, Indonesia

Barbara Beckert; Christoph Dittrich; Soeryo Adiwibowo

doi:10.14764/10.ASEAS-2014.1-6

Authors

Barbara Beckert Department of Human Geography, University of Göttingen
Christoph Dittrich Department of Human Geography, University of Göttingen
Soeryo Adiwibowo Faculty of Human Ecology, Bogor Agricultural University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14764/10.ASEAS-2014.1-6

Keywords:

Access to Land, Indonesia, Jambi Province, Land Conflicts, Post-Frontier

Abstract

In the lowland areas of Sumatra, conflicts over land and natural resources are increasing as fundamental land use transformation processes take place and the region is gradually integrated into globalized markets. Set against the background of the conflict arena of Bungku village, Jambi province, this paper describes and analyzes the struggle for land between a group of indigenous people, the Batin Sembilan, and an oil palm company, PT Asiatic Persada. By highlighting the path dependency of land conflicts, the article shows that access to land results from concurring but ambivalent institutional regimes and power asymmetries, leading to an ostensible state of equilibrium in a post-frontier area.

Author Biographies

Barbara Beckert, Department of Human Geography, University of Göttingen

Barbara Beckert is a research associate at the Department of Human Geography at the University of Göttingen, Germany. Her research within the framework of the Collaborative Research Center (CRC) 990 “Ecological and Socioeconomic Functions of Tropical Lowland Rainforest Transformation Systems”, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), focuses on land use conflicts in Jambi province. Further research interests are livelihoods and conservation in a rural context.

Christoph Dittrich, Department of Human Geography, University of Göttingen

Christoph Dittrich is head of the Department of Human Geography at the University of Göttingen, Germany, and co-leader of a research project on land use transformation within the frame work of CRC 990. His main areas of research are human-environmental conflicts in a globalized context, sustainable resource management in megacities as well as geographical food systems.

Soeryo Adiwibowo, Faculty of Human Ecology, Bogor Agricultural University

Soeryo Adiwibowo is chair of the Department of Communication & Community Development Sciences, Faculty of Human Ecology, Bogor Agricultural University, Indonesia. His research focus is on national parks, conservation areas, and natural research management from a political ecology perspective. He is a collaborator within the framework of the CRC 990.