It goes on: Oil Palm Plantations, Local Communities and Land Conflict in West Pasaman District, Indonesia

Abstrak

This research seeks to elucidate the conflict over PT PHP I's Cultivation
Rights Title (HGU), claimed as customary land by some communities in
Nagari Kapa. It aims to detail the customary elements that legitimized the
1997 land rights transfer to the West Pasaman Regency government. The
issue stems from internal conflicts among Nagari Kapa's customary elites,
impacting PT PHP I as the HGU holder. The disputed area encompasses 315
hectares of PT PHP I's land, occupied by the community since 2020. Using
ethnographic methods, the study explores community and tribal leaders'
(Ninik Mamak) perspectives on customs and land status. Interviews were
conducted with 10 groups of tenant farmers on PT PHP I's core HGU land
and 5 Ninik Mamak. Findings reveal that land status, under the Babingkah
Adat system, is determined by the Pucuk Adat and transferred according to
Adat Diisi Limbago Dituang and Siliah Jariah customary requirements.
However, some community members oppose this mechanism, occupying land
designated as PT PHP I's HGU, and thus, they collectively claim the land as
customary territory of the Nagari Kapa community.