The Struggle of the Meratus Dayak Indigenous Community in South Kalimantan to Protect Their Customary Territory  

The Meratus Mountains are a strategic ecological area spanning South Kalimantan Province. This region boasts high biodiversity, is a water source for millions of people, and serves as the living space and livelihood of the Meratus Dayak Indigenous People, who have protected the area for generations. However, instead of recognizing their role as ecological protectors in the region, the government has designated parts of the region as protected forest and mining areas. Most recently, the government has proposed converting the customary territory in Atiran Village into a National Park.

This policy fundamentally ignores Indigenous Peoples' conservation systems that have proven effective through customary zoning practices (such as katuan prohibition, katuan customs, and katuan sacred), the application of customary sanctions against perpetrators of environmental destruction, as well as sustainable management mechanisms that have been in place for hundreds of years. Ignoring this customary management system not only constitutes epistemic injustice but also threatens the ecological sustainability of the Meratus region.

The Meratus Dayak Indigenous People have developed a holistic conservation system that combines spiritual, ecological, and socio-economic aspects, viewing forests as living entities with intrinsic value, not merely economic commodities. The National Park Policy has the potential to marginalize the role of Indigenous Peoples as forest protectors, criminalize traditional conservation practices, and threaten the preservation of the five basic principles of Dayak Indigenous Peoples' customary territory management: sustainability, togetherness, biodiversity, subsistence, and adherence to customary law, which have been proven to foster sustainable development.

Indigenous communities staged a demonstration at the South Kalimantan Governor's office to encourage the recognition and protection of their customary territories and prevent the designation of customary territories as National Parks. As a result, the Governor and the Forestry Service issued a Circular Letter concerning the Acceleration of Recognition and Protection of Indigenous Communities in South Kalimantan. Indigenous communities followed up by preparing Social and Spatial Data documents for their customary territories through profile excavation activities (population, customary institutions, natural resources, important places, and so on), deliberations or discussions with bordering areas, taking field points, and verifying the results of the point taking, making maps from the sketches, and signing the Minutes of Boundary Arrangement (BATB).

The impact of this initiative is that 477 Indigenous Communities in Balai Atiran, Balai Sumbai, Balai Kalampayan, and Balai Banyu Panas have spatial and social data on their customary areas as supporting documents to encourage the acceleration of the Recognition and Protection of Indigenous Communities in Hulu Sungai Tengah Regency.