JAKARTA – The Minister of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions (Mendes PDT), Yandri Susanto, alongside Deputy Minister Ahmad Riza Patria, attended a Coordination Meeting hosted by the leadership of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia (DPR RI) to discuss agrarian conflicts at the Parliament Complex, Senayan, on Tuesday (August 11, 2026).

Coordinated data compiled by the Ministry of Forestry, the Geospatial Information Agency (BIG), and the Ministry of Home Affairs indicates that there are 35,974 forest zone territories and 34,323 villages situated within or directly bordering these forest areas.

This mapping serves as an initial reference and does not automatically determine the legal status of individual land parcels.

"This distribution illustrates the scale of the issue we must collectively manage. A total of 34,323 villages and approximately 72.28 million residents are recorded as living within or directly adjacent to forest zones, exhibiting vast regional variations," Minister Yandri stated.

Based on field cases, rural agrarian conflicts can be classified into seven primary typologies:

1. Villages overlapping with designated forest zones.

2. Communities in dispute with holders of Right to Cultivate (HGU) plantation permits.

3. Dysfunctional plasma or partnership farming schemes.

4. Communities overlapping with sectoral permit holders.

5. Customary (Adat) communities facing disputes against the state or corporate entities.

6. Village land/assets conflicting with national infrastructure projects, the Land Bank, or state-owned assets.

7. Horizontal disputes within or between villages concerning boundaries, communal customary land (tanah ulayat), and natural resources.

Identifying this typology helps clarify the distinct parties, subjects, and authorities involved in each case. Resolutions must engage the relevant ministries or agencies holding authority over land status, zones, permits, or assets, while Kemendes PDT ensures the mitigation and restoration of impacts on village governance, public services, livelihoods, and social stability.

Minister Yandri asserted that resolving agrarian conflicts is most effective when each ministry acts strictly within its statutory authority while aligning toward a unified goal.

The Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning (ATR/Head of BPN) governs land rights certainty, HGU, Right to Use (HPL), agrarian reform, and asset structuring. The Minister of Forestry holds authority over forest zone boundaries and legal status, including mechanisms for land release, boundary adjustments, and social forestry.

"Kemendes PDT manages the impacts on village administration, basic services, rural livelihoods, economic recovery, and social conflict prevention. This coordination meeting must yield a 'one case, one division of duties, one timeline, and one outcome' framework—resulting in fully restored villages," said the former Deputy Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR RI).

The ultimate goal, Minister Yandri emphasized, is the genuine recovery of villages and their residents. Legal certainty and justice must be established; governance and basic services must resume; livelihoods must be restored; sustainable development must proceed; and recurring conflicts must be prevented.

He outlined five benchmarks of success:

1. Clear legal status of land and territorial zoning.

2. Normalized public administration and basic services.

3. Restored community income levels.

4. Social protection for vulnerable groups.

5. Collaborative governance to prevent future disputes.

"We need to establish priority cases based on the scale of the issue, the number of affected residents, social risk levels, and documentation readiness," added the former Chairman of Commission VIII of the DPR.

As a second recommendation, basic public services and productive community activities must be legally protected throughout the resolution process to prevent administrative decisions from heightening local vulnerability.

Third, every decision issued by ATR/BPN and the Ministry of Forestry must link directly to measurable village recovery plans, incorporating metrics for public services, livelihoods, and outcome indicators.

Fourth, a joint follow-up mechanism must be formed involving ATR/BPN, the Ministry of Forestry, Kemendes PDT, DPR RI, local governments, and community representatives.

The meeting was chaired by Deputy Speaker of the DPR RI Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, accompanied by Deputy Speakers Saan Mustopa and Cucun Ahmad Syamsurizal.

The parliamentary leadership, together with executive branch representatives, pledged to formulate optimal solutions to ensure sustainable village development within forest zones.

Also in attendance were Minister of Forestry Raja Juli Antoni, Minister of ATR/Head of BPN Nusron Wahid, Deputy Minister of Forestry Rohmat Marzuki, and Deputy Minister of ATR/BPN Ossy Dermawan.

Photo: Didi/Kemendes PDT 
Text: Firman/Kemendes PDT