The Indigenous Land Struggles Amidst the Pressures for Change in the Lake Toba Areas of North Sumatra, Indonesia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24259/fs.v9i2.35897Keywords:
Masyarakat Adat, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous land, Batak, Lake Toba, North SumatraAbstract
Many Masyarakat Adat (Indigenous People), including those in the Lake Toba areas of North Sumatra, Indonesia, struggle to protect their rights to land and resources. This article examines the agencies and dynamics of indigenous-land-related development in Lake Toba amidst modernization, focusing on their roles, relationships, perceptions, interests, and strategies. Semi-structured interviews using snowball sampling were conducted with Indigenous People around Lake Toba, local NGOs, and local government representatives. Five key groups were identified in the process of procuring Indigenous land use rights for the Toba Batak ethnic group: tribal leaders (elders), community members, land dealers, local government, and NGOs. The study found that the Indigenous People’s movement faces challenges beyond political economic structural vulnerabilities, which include economic pragmatism, diminishing cultural values, and rising individualism among community members. The study advocates for political empowerment through multiple strategies that enhance knowledge of the environment and cultural heritage. Legal reforms focused on Indigenous People’s rights and economic empowerment are fundamental in this light. While individual land registration should continue, communal land recognition and protection can also be supported through legal reforms for customary land ownership.
References
Arizona, Y., Wicaksono, M. T., & Vel, J. (2019). The Role of Indigeneity NGOs in the Legal Recognition of Adat Communities and Customary Forests in Indonesia. Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology, 20(5), 487–506. https://doi.org/10.1080/14442 213.2019.1670241
Babbie, E. (2004). The practice of social research. Wadsworth Publishing Company.
Bedner, A., & Arizona, Y. (2019). Adat in Indonesian Land Law: A Promise for the Future or a Dead End? Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology, 20(5), 416–434. https://doi.org/10.1080/14442213.2019.1670246
Berkes, F., Colding, J., Folke, C. (2000). Rediscovery of Traditional Ecological Knowledge as adaptive management. Ecological Applications, 10(5), 1251–1262. https://doi.org/10.1890/1051-0761(2000)010[1251:ROTEKA]2.0.CO;2
Bryant, C. R., Russworm, L. H., & McLellan, A. G. (1982). The City's Countryside: Land and its management in the rural-urban fringe. Longman.
De Vaus, D. (2002). Surveys in Social Research (5th Edition). Routledge.
Dhiaulhaq, A., & McCarthy, J. F. (2020). Indigenous Rights and Agrarian Justice Framings in Forest Land Conflicts in Indonesia. Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology, 21(1), 34–54. https://doi.org/10.1080/14442213.2019.1670243
Firmando, H. B. (2021). Sistem Pertanahan Tradisional Pada Masyarakat Toba Batak Dan Relevansinya di Kawasan Danau Toba (Analisis Sosiologis). Jurnal Ilmiah Sosiologi Agama (JISA), 4(2), 113–135.
Geospatial Information Agency of Indonesia (BIG). (2017). Peta RBI Format SHP. Retrieved from https://tanahair.indonesia.go.id/portal-web
Given, L. M. (Ed.) (2008). The Sage encyclopedia of qualitative research methods. SAGE Publications Inc.
Government of Indonesia. (2015). Intended Nationally Determined Contribution Republic of Indonesia. Submission to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat. Retrieved from https://www4.unfccc.int/sites/submissions/INDC/Published%20Documents/Indonesia/1/INDC_REPUBLIC%20OF%20INDONESIA.pdf
Government of Indonesia. (2022). Enhanced Nationally Determined Contribution Republic of Indonesia. Submission to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat. Retrieved from https://unfccc.int/do cuments/615082
Harvey, D. L. (2002). Agency and community: A critical realist paradigm. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 32(2), 163-194+i. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-5914.00182
Haryono, D., & Rauf, M. A. (2016). Sejarah dan Perkembangan Sistem Pemerintahan Desa. In M. A.Rauf (Ed.), Model Penataan Kampung Adat di Kabupaten Siak (pp. 33–50). Alaf Riau.
Healey, P. (1992). An institutional model of the development process. Journal of Property Research, 9(1), 33–44. https://doi.org/10.1080/09599919208724049
Healey, P., & Barrett, S. M. (1990). Structure and Agency in Land and Property Development Processes: Some Ideas for Research. Urban Studies, 27(1), 89–103. https://doi.org/10.1080/00420989020080051
Indonesia. (2019). Manganjab, Tradisi Memohon Kesuburan Tanah. retrieved from https://indonesia.go.id/kategori/komoditas/660/manganjab-tradisi-memohon-kesuburan-tanah?lang=1.
Law No. 22. 1999. Tentang Pemerintahan Daerah (Regional Government). Retrieved from https://www.dpr.go.id/dokjdih/
Law No. 23. 2014. Tentang Pemerintahan Daerah (Regional Government). Retrieved from https://www.fao.org/faolex/results/details/en/c/LEX-FAOC160168/
Law No. 39. 1999. Tentang Hak Asasi Manusia (Human Rigts Acts) Retrieved from https://www.komnasham.go.id/
Law No. 39. 2014. Tentang Perkebunan (Plantations Acts). Retrieved from https://www.fao.org/faolex/results/details/en/c/LEX-FAOC021119/
Law No. 41. 1999. Tentang Kehutanan (Forestry Acts). Retrieved from https://peraturan.bpk.go.id/
Law No.18. 2004. Tentang Perkebunan (Plantations Acts). Retrieved from https://peraturan.bpk.go.id/Details/40516/uu-no-18-tahun-2004
McCarthy, J. F., & Robinson, K. (2016). Land, economic development, social justice and environmental management in Indonesia: The search for the people’s sovereignty. In McCarthy, J. F., & Robinson, K. (Eds.), Land and Development in Indonesia: Searching for the People’s Sovereignty (pp. 1–31). ISEAS Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1355/9789814762106-006
Moniaga, S. (2004). Emerging Indigenous Peoples Movement in Indonesia. Focus, 36(June). Retrieved from http://www.hurights.or.jp/archives/focus/section2/20 04/06/emerging-indigenous-peoples-movement-in-indonesia.html
Muntaza, M. (2014). Konflik Agraria-Struktural di Wilayah Masyarakat Adat: Sebuah Bibliografi Beranotasi. Working Paper Sajogyo Institute No. 5. Sajogyo Institute.
Naibaho, B. B., & Su, S. J. (2025). Strengthening Collaborative Governance: Implementing the Pentahelix Approach to Address Challenges in the Toba Caldera UNESCO Global Geopark, Indonesia. Geoconservation Research, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.57647/j.gcr.2025.0801.02
Pradhani, S. I. (2018). Traditional Rights of Indigenous People in Indonesia: Legal Recognition and Court Interpretation. Jambe Law Journal, 1(2), 177-205. https://doi.org/10.22437/jlj.1.2.177-205
Robinson, K. (2019). Can Formalisation of Adat Land Regulation Protect Community Rights? The Case of the Orang Asli Sorowako and the Karongsi’e/Dongi. Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology, 20(5), 471–486. https://doi.org/10.1080/144 42213.2019.1670247
Santoso, J., Mutahir, A., Restuadhi, H., & Chusna, A. (2024). Moving with the Soul: Cipari Peasant Movements for Land Rights in Indonesia. Forest and Society, 8(1), 16-40. https://doi.org/10.24259/fs.v8i1.26579
Saumure, K., & Given, L. M. (2008). Nonprobability sampling. In Given, L. M. (Ed.), The SAGE encyclopedia of qualitative research methods (pp. 562-563). SAGE Publications Inc.
Silalahi, D. (2022). Penanganan Konflik Tenurial di Tano Batak. In Marsen Sinaga (Ed.). Nunga Leleng Hami Mian di Son: Menghadapi Masyarakat Adat Negara. INSISTPress.
Sinurat, L. P. (2019). Hak Atas Tanah Adat: Gerakan Masyarakat Adat Pandumaan-Sipatuhuta Selama Era Reformas. Al Qalam, 25(3), 485–498. https://doi.org/10. 31969/alq.v25i3.784
The Government Regulation. (2011). Rencana Induk Pembangunan Kepariwisataan Nasional Tahun 2010 - 2025. Retrieved from https://jdih.kemenparekraf.go.id/
The Ministry of Tourism. (2015). Rencana Strategis Pengembangan Destinasi dan Industri Pariwisata Tahun 2015-2019. Retrieved from https://kemenparekraf.go.id/
The Presidential Regulation. (2011). Masterplan Percepatan Dan Perluasan Pembangunan Ekonomi Indonesia 2011-2025. Retieved from https://peraturan.bpk.go.id/
Vergouwen, J. C. (1986). Masyarakat Hukum Adat Batak Toba. LKiS.
VonBenda-Beckmann, F., & VonBenda-Beckmann, K. (2011). Myths and stereotypes about adat law: A reassessment of Van Vollenhoven in the light of current struggles over adat law in Indonesia. Bijdragen Tot de Taal-, Land- En Volkenkunde, 167(2–3), 167–195. https://doi.org/10.1163/22134379-9000 3588
Warman, K. (2014). Peta Perundang-undangan tentang Pengakuan Hak Masyarakat Hukum Adat. unpublished. Retrieved from https://procurement-notices.un dp.org/
Zhai, G. (2020). The Impact of the Agency Role-Based Model on Decision Making in Real Estate Development Projects. Frontiers Research of Architecture and Engineering, 3(3), 1-5. https://doi.org/10.30564/frae.v3i3.2305
Additional Files
Published
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Forest and Society
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This is an open access journal which means that all contents is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access.
Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written consent of the Publisher. An article based on a section from a completed graduate dissertation may be published in Forest and Society, but only if this is allowed by author's(s') university rules. The Editors reserve the right to edit or otherwise alter all contributions, but authors will receive proofs for approval before publication.
Forest and Society operates a CC-BY 4.0 © license for journal papers. Copyright remains with the author, but Forest and Society is licensed to publish the paper, and the author agrees to make the article available with the CC-BY 4.0 license. Reproduction as another journal article in whole or in part would be plagiarism. Forest and Society reserves all rights except those granted in this copyright notice
