The Indonesian government has launched an official map of customary forests, the first of its kind in the country, in a bid to protect them from land grabs.

• Indonesia has published its first ever map of customary forests, in a move it says is aimed at demarcating indigenous lands to prevent land grabs by businesses and developers and resolve existing conflicts.
• The government says it expects the publication of the map to help speed up the process of legal recognition of indigenous communities, which in turn is needed to establish their land rights.
• But indigenous rights activists are unconvinced, saying the land recognition process for local communities continues to be hampered by onerous bureaucratic requirements.
• They’ve called on the president to issue an executive order that would abolish those requirements and speed up the process of legal recognition for indigenous communities and their land rights.

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Source : Mongabay via le Farmland Grab