THE STRUGGLE FOR LAND RIGHTS IN POST-TSUNAMI AND POST CONFLICT

ACEH, INDONESIA

Lilianne Fan , Oxfam Aceh-Nias

and

Robin Palmer, Oxfam Great Britain

From Oxford to Aceh

A fateful encounter at the Sheldonian

From Oxford to Aceh

Seizing the historical moment & exploiting the space while it still exists

Look at land rights in ALL post-emergency situations

ACEH TODAY

Post-disaster and post-conflict context, with huge international tsunami reconstruction effort and smaller government-led conflict recovery process underway

Aceh area worst affected by earthquake and tsunami of 26 December 2006

167,000 declared dead or missing, 500,000 rendered homeless, over 252,000 houses destroyed

Damage estimated at over $4.6 bn. 1000 villages and towns, 14,800 schools, 10,000 km of roads destroyed.

300,000 plots of land (20% of province) totally or partially damaged (submerged and salinated). FAO estimates 15% agricultural land permanently lost.

Unemployment rose from 6.8 % to 30%. Worst hit were fishing communities, farmers, small-scale businesses, and labourers.

Massive disaster led to unprecedented international response, currently the largest reconstruction effort in the developing world ($8 bn.)

WB reports that Aceh is currently the 4th poorest province in Indonesia, even while being the 3rd richest in fiscal resources.

Aceh already deeply scarred by 3 decades of armed conflict between GoI and Free Aceh Movement, which saw some 15,000 killed, hundreds of thousands displaced, thousands beaten and tortured with impunity, livelihoods and social services eroded.

Renewed peace talks led to signing of MoU on 15 August 2005, followed by decommissioning of weapons, troop withdrawal, reintegration of ex-combatants, the passage of a new governance legislation, and upcoming local elections.

LAND RIGHTS IN POST-DISASTER, POST-CONFLICT CONTEXT

Rights to land hold multiple implications for both tsunami-affected and conflict-affected people in Aceh.

Secure access to land directly implicates the capacity of individuals, households, and differently positioned members of communities to begin process of rebuilding their lives and accumulating assets needed to alleviate vulnerabilities, risks and poverty.

Land is a foundation for reconstructing houses and recovering livelihoods destroyed by war and disaster, and a potential source of income and accumulation of financial assets through sale/rent or as collateral for credit.

Land can play important role in promoting women’s economic empowerment, by allowing greater control over household and communal resources and capacity to invest in future generations.

Can contribute to social and economic security of vulnerable groups, such as widows and orphans.

Accumulation of natural, physical, and financial assets forms basis for increasing investment in human capital, such as education, training.

ACEH BEFORE THE TSUNAMI

Over past 30 years, Aceh important to national economy as result of natural gas exploitation. GDP rose faster than most provinces. However, this period also saw an massive increase in poverty.

Between 1980-2002, poverty rose by 239%, while poverty rates throughout the country fell by 47%.

Between 1999-2002 alone, poverty rate doubled to 28.9%.

In 2002, 48.5% of the population had no access to clean water

38% of the population had no access to heath facilities

36.2% of children under the age of 5 were malnourished

While Aceh’s contribution to the national economy grew, locals came to feel excluded from the benefits of growth.

Negative impacts of development included large-scale natural resource exploitation by non-Acehnese business elite, emergence of ethnic tensions caused by transmigration; appropriation of villagers land and property by State; environmental erosion and pollution; human rights abuses.

More than 75% land area carved up into logging and plantation concessions, owned by state-sponsored conglomerates. Little involvement of local entrepreneurs, confrontations with local communities.

Security forces involved in illegal business logging, marijuana, mining, and prostitution.

Post-tsunami land issues Problem of massive displacement and need for sustainable return. Priority to support Government and community-based mechanisms

for establishing land tenure security to allow for return of displaced populations.

Substantial loss of personal identity and land documents, including ID cards, certificates, sales and purchase records, and cadastral maps.

Large amount of land submerged or rendered unsafe for return as result of tsunami, resettlement needed for landless tsunami victims.

Need to integrated bottom-up community mapping and village planning processes with top-down land titling, spatial planning, and land consolidation processes.

Need for special measures to protect rights of vulnerable groups, such as widows and orphans.

Post-conflict land and resource issues

Persistence of conflict-era power relations, institutions, and programmes (i.e., highly concentrated ownership of productive land; military land claims over villager’s property; transmigrant repatriation; etc.) Need for reform of access to and control over natural resource, not just between Central and Provincial Government, but more urgently within Aceh.

Problems in reintegration process, particularly in providing targetted support for conflict victims, dispersal of compensation money and continued ambiguity about MoU implementation.

High unemployment of ex-combatants correlates with rise in to violent crime.

Lack of long-term strategy for post-conflict development. Lack of legal protection, absence of effective grievance and

accountability mechanisms, loss of confidence in justice sector.

Conclusion

In post-tsunami and post-conflict Aceh, the protection of rights and equitable access to land, property, and resources are preconditions for sustainable recovery and long-term economic, political, social, and physical development.

Need to address historical inequalities that have perpetuated poverty and work towards model of development that is inclusive of and beneficial to all.

Thank You!