Strengthening the Legality and Rights of the Pattiro Toa Customary Territory Through Participatory Mapping

Losing customary territory for the Pattiro Toa Indigenous Community located in Terasa Village, West Sinjai District, Sinjai Regency means losing tradition, knowledge, and generations. In the past, the Pattiro Toa Indigenous Community lived in peace. However, the situation changed and their entire customary territory was unilaterally claimed as a forest area. The community, consisting of three villages—Cenre, Pattiro, and Kasimpureng—lost access to the customary forest which was previously the mainstay of their lives. This also triggered derivative problems such as horizontal conflict, the weakening of the role of customary institutions, and caused the younger generation to lose self-confidence.

Most young people choose to migrate and settle in urban areas or work for palm oil companies in Kalimantan and Malaysia. As a result, indigenous communities lose the next generation who can maintain their traditional knowledge lines. The loss of the younger generation threatens the sustainability of traditions, such as land management based on local wisdom, the concoction of traditional medicinal plants, and local food processing. In fact, sources of livelihood in indigenous areas are abundant and can be utilized to meet the needs of life.

In order to monitor and strengthen the process of submitting the application for recognition of the Pattiro Toa Indigenous Community and Indigenous Forest from the Sinjai Regency regional government, AMAN The Sinjai region together with the Pattiro Toa Indigenous Community in a program to prepare social and spatial identification documents supported by the Nusantara Fund Direct Funding.

Strengthening the legality of the Pattiro Toa customary area began with various preparations. In early February 2024, an initial discussion was held to agree on the stages of program implementation, including the timing of village discussions on accelerating the recognition and protection of the rights of the Pattiro Toa Indigenous Community. The discussion also included planning for a workshop on preparing documents for the application for the determination of customary forests and the baseline for the Pattiro Toa Indigenous Community's customary forests.

The series of activities were carried out in the period of March-July 2024. It began with a village discussion that focused on accelerating the recognition and protection of the rights of the Pattiro Toa Indigenous Community. This discussion also involved the wider community to increase understanding and build solidarity in the struggle for recognition of customary areas.

Then, the workshop activities followed, the Pattiro Toa Indigenous Community prepared a document for the application for the determination of 835,7 hectares of customary forest. Included in the document for the application for the determination of customary forest is the identification of the Pattiro Toa Indigenous Community in the form of history, customary territory, customary law, customary institutions, wealth and/or customary objects, including biodiversity) with a total area of ​​identified customary territory reaching 1.178,8 hectares. The workshop was also used as a means of joint learning about the importance of social and spatial data in fighting for rights to customary territory.

Next, enter the agenda of Signing the Minutes of the Customary Territory Boundary Arrangement of Pattiro Toa by involving various parties, including traditional figures and village governments, to ensure that all related parties have an understanding of the customary territory boundaries. Training assessment economic potential is not neglected. To map the economic potential in the customary area and build a shared understanding of how to utilize their potential sustainably based on local wisdom. A total of 19 Pattiro Toa indigenous people now have an understanding of the development of potential and how to identify the economy of indigenous peoples.

The activity continued with a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) submission of Documents for the Identification of the Pattiro Toa Indigenous Community to the Indigenous Community Committee on July 25, 2024. Accompanied by a meeting to Discuss the Results of the Identification, Verification for Validation of the Pattiro Toa Indigenous Community with the Indigenous Community Committee on July 30, 2024. In the two activities, the Kampala Indigenous Community & the Barambang Katute Indigenous Community were also involved. This cross-community consolidation strengthens the solidarity network and expands the scope of advocacy for the recognition of the rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Collecting social data, such as community history and customary law, strengthens the position of communities in fighting for their land rights. In addition, mapping customary areas also supports strengthening legal recognition of customary land amidst conflicts with state forest areas. 

This data is an important tool to fight for land rights amidst overlapping claims with state forest areas. Social and spatial data allows for historical evidence of ownership, clear customary boundaries, and understanding of customary law, strengthening the community's position in the process of submitting the recognition of the Pattiro Toa Indigenous Community and Customary Forest from the Sinjai Regency government. The documents have been submitted and have reached the stage of discussion of verification and validation by the Sinjai Regency Indigenous Community Committee as a basis for recommendations for the Determination of the Pattiro Toa Indigenous Community through a Regent's Decree (SK).