The Struggle for New Legitimate Customary Resource Management Rules in an Indigenous Swidden Society: A Case Study of Besiq Village, East Kalimantan, Indonesia

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  • 焼畑先住民社会における資源利用制度の正当性をめぐる競合――インドネシア東カリマンタン州・ベシ村の事例――
  • ヤキバタ センジュウミン シャカイ ニ オケル シゲン リヨウ セイド ノ セイトウセイ オ メグル キョウゴウ : インドネシア ヒガシカリマンタンシュウ ・ ベシムラ ノ ジレイ

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Abstract

<p>Much value has been placed on collaborative and participatory methods in resource management policies since decentralization and democratization in Indonesia. Although indigenous people are necessarily important actors in implementation, social confusion regarding the customary rules of resource management has emerged in indigenous societies. The aim of this paper is to understand 1) the struggles of indigenous peoples for new legitimate customary resource management rules following decentralization and democratization, and 2) the process of accepting new rules in a case study of an indigenous swidden society in East Kalimantan.</p><p>The concept of legitimacy consists of three factors : a sense of entitlement to resources based on management or a history of use, resource scarcity, and thoughtful and sympathetic feelings, known as Terasi among the Benuaq people, who are indigenous swiddeners. After decentralization and democratization, a particular descendent group developed a strong sense of entitlement based on its history of use and higher resource scarcity in the group’s semi-primary forest area. Therefore, they attempted to implement new rules regarding resource use in their semi-primary forest by people outside the group, such as granting conditional access rights, or in some cases not granting any access rights, instead of the free or permitted access rights that existed before decentralization and democratization. However, the outsiders did not recognize the new trial rules as legitimate. Their rationale was 1) the descendent group’s sense of entitlement in the semi-primary forest should be curtailed because the group did not manage the forest resources and land, and 2) there was still little scarcity of resources in the semi-primary forest areas. Although some conditional access rights have not yet gained sufficient legitimacy in the eyes of the outsiders, they accepted the new trial rules, which are percolating throughout indigenous swidden society, by virtue of cultural elements such as conflict avoidance and reciprocal logic and action.</p>

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