Madani News, 09/08/2021 Every year, on August 9th, the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples is commemorated. This day is a form of solidarity with the current existence of indigenous peoples and a form of struggle against the injustices that continue to befall indigenous communities worldwide, including in Indonesia.

Giorgio Budi Indrarto, Deputy Director of the Sustainable Madani Foundation, stated that the existence of indigenous communities is crucial, as they are the foundation of Indonesia's diversity. Therefore, according to Indrarto, if indigenous communities are not properly managed and protected and prioritized as soon as possible, their fate will be at stake.

" We need to address this urgent need. The narrative we must establish is that indigenous peoples are the foundation of diversity. This will prevent indigenous peoples from being viewed with suspicion, political considerations, separatism, and other issues. This is a page that must be turned. Indonesia is indigenous peoples, and indigenous peoples are Indonesia, " said Giorgio Budi Indrarto in a virtual discussion, " Working Together to Accelerate the Ratification of the Indigenous Peoples Law Bill to Achieve Social, Economic, and Ecological Justice in Indonesia, " organized by the Madani Berkelanjutan Foundation on Friday, August 6, 2021.

In this discussion, a number of speakers were present such as Willy Aditya, Chair of the Working Committee for the Indigenous Peoples Law Bill of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Erasmus Cahyadi, Deputy Secretary General for Political Affairs of the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN), Prof. Dr. Ir. Agustinus Kastanya, Professor of the Faculty of Agriculture, Pattimura University, Devi Anggraini, Chairperson of AMAN Women, and Yeryana, Chairperson of the Daily Executive of the East Barito Aman Women Regional Board. Then, the discussion study was presented by Arief Virgy from the Madani Berkelanjutan Foundation, also present as a respondent to the discussion was Bernadinus Steni from the Madani Berkelanjutan Foundation.

In a study on indigenous communities presented by Arief Virgy, it was found that spatially, of the 9.3 million hectares of identified indigenous territories, there were 8.5 million hectares of areas that overlapped with permits or concessions and the Indicative Map for the Cessation of New Permits (PIPPIB) or forest and peatland moratorium areas.

" The largest overlap occurs between customary areas and PIPPIB, which covers 4.1 million hectares, followed by oil palm plantation permits covering 1.1 million hectares, and oil and gas concessions covering 1 million hectares. In addition, there are 190,000 hectares of customary areas included in the Food Estate Area of ​​Interest (AoI) in 4 provinces (North Sumatra, South Sumatra, Central Kalimantan, and Papua), the largest in Papua at 123,000 hectares, followed by Central Kalimantan at 66,000 hectares, " said Arief Virgy.

Arief Virgy also emphasized that accelerating the ratification of the Indigenous Peoples Bill is the best solution to address the problems currently facing indigenous communities. " Accelerating the Indigenous Peoples Bill is necessary because of the overlapping conditions surrounding indigenous peoples' territories, permits/concessions, and the Area of ​​Interest for Food Estates. This clearly places indigenous communities under increasing threat. If we want to achieve Indonesia's climate commitments, ratifying the Supreme Court Bill can be one way to achieve that goal ," Arief Virgy emphasized.

With the commemoration of International Indigenous Peoples Day, many hope this momentum will serve not only as a commemoration but also as a catalyst to expedite the passage of the Indigenous Peoples Bill. Happy International Indigenous Peoples Day.

Get the resource materials in the Shoulder-to-Shoulder discussion in Accelerating the Ratification of the Indigenous Peoples Bill to Realize Social, Economic, and Ecological Justice in Indonesia by downloading the attachments available below.

Material – Yeryana


Material – Willy Aditya


Material – Prof. Dr. Ir. Agustinus Kastanya


Material – Erasmus Cahyadi


Material – Devi Anggraini


Material – Madani Arief Virgy