Realizing Sovereignty over Customary Territories: Participatory Mapping of Customary Territories in Ketapang Regency

In the Pancur Keramat, Laman Riam Dadap, and Kenabung Village Indigenous Communities located in Ketapang Regency, West Kalimantan, living space and the continuity of cultural traditions are increasingly being eroded. More or less because of the increasingly limited access to customary areas that overlap with company concessions and state forest areas. Through the support of the Nusantara Fund Direct Funding, the three Indigenous Communities are fighting to defend their rights through Participatory Mapping of Customary Areas to strengthen rights to customary areas and management practices based on customary knowledge.

The customary area mapping program in Ketapang Regency began with a series of activities involving all community members, village government, and experts. From February 1, 2024 to mid-March, a customary deliberation was held as a first step, so that everyone had a common understanding of mapping. The deliberation was also held to introduce mapping technology. Mapping experts demonstrated how to track boundaries in the mapping process using technology, such as satellite imagery and GPS devices. After the discussion, an agreement was reached for the time of the field survey and the indicative boundary points to be checked during the survey.

On March 13, the field survey began. Members of the Indigenous Peoples community together with mapping experts followed the less traveled paths, tracing the boundaries surrounding the 3.044-hectare Pancur Keramat customary areas, the 47.614-hectare Laman Riam Dadap customary areas, and the 6.160-hectare Kampung Kenabung customary areas. Recording was done in local languages ​​to ensure important locations were documented. Throughout the journey, the area before measuring the coordinate points of the cleaning was carried out around the sacred locations as a form of respect. The process of recording spatial data and customary area boundaries lasted until March 22.

On April 9, the activity continued with a data verification session of the survey results with community members. The temporary map produced from the delineation of GPS coordinate points was presented to traditional elders, mapping experts, and the village government to ensure that the map of the traditional area truly depicts the reality on the ground according to common understanding. The verification session lasted until April 11 and ended with the signing of the final map by the traditional leader, also witnessed by representatives of the village government. The document was made in physical and digital forms.

Through a series of activities such as customary deliberations, field surveys, and data verification, it also clarifies the boundaries of customary areas for the Pancur Keramat, Laman Riam Dadap, and Kampung Kenabung Indigenous Communities. The existence of spatial documents agreed upon by all parties as technical and historical evidence, including representatives of the village government, will strengthen the position of the Indigenous Community in an effort to obtain official recognition from the government. Formal recognition from the government will be a strong foundation for the Indigenous Community to exercise sovereignty over customary areas legally and protected. The customary area map will also be used as a basis for the Indigenous Community to protect its territory from various threats of destruction by other parties.