Land Tenure Conflict Settlements in Attempts to Community Empowerment to Perform Forest Management

This study aimed to describe patterns of land use by the community of Production-Forest Management Unit (PFMU) of Banjar, make an inventory of land conflicts, identify the causes of land conflicts and formulate strategies to resolve land conflicts in the attempts to empower the community in terms of forest management. This research was conducted in villages located in Banjar PFMU, South Kalimantan, Indonesia. The issues of tenure in this study were analyzed using descriptive-qualitative methods through the Rapid Land Tenure Assessment (RaTA). Conflict resolution mechanisms were analyzed using the method of the Analytic Hierarchy Process. The patterns of forest land use done by the community were in the forms of gardens, yards, fields, and settlements. After the establishment of forest areas, land conflicts began to occur, in terms of conflicts between the community and the government and companies. Causes of land conflicts occurring in Banjar PFMU consisted of uncertainty in the regional boundaries, forest encroachment, illegal logging, environmental destruction, and land conversion. Alternatives to conflict resolution necessary to conduct are through the establishment of regional boundaries mutually recognized by those parties, law enforcement and institutional development involving the role of forestry extension workers, religious leaders, bureaucrats, and law enforcement officers.