ABSTRACT
ApublicationoftheIndonesianGeneralDirectorateforAgrarianAffairsstatesthatthemost
chaoticland-useinNorthSumatraisfoundonlandwhichfallsunderthestatusofcustomary
laworadat(Silalahi1982).Thepublicationimplicitlystatesthatthepersistenceofpoverty canbeequatedtothepersistenceofacertainusagepatternappliedonadatland.North
Tapanuli,thefocusofthispaper,isknownashavingalargeproportionofadatland.Table1
showsthatadatlandintheNorthTapanulidistrictamountsto67.23%ofthearea'stotalland.
while21.01%iscategorisedasforestryland,whichisoftenone-sidedlyclaimedsobythe
ForestryDepartment.Althoughsuchcategorisationsofland(adat,forestry,stateandlease land)mayoverlap,thismayindicatethatadatisthenorm,governingmostoftheNorth Tapanulidistrict'sland.
