ABSTRACT
However much policy is framed as apolitical and based on scientific rationale, in reality, it is highly political, intensely fought over, with gains and losses snatched and grabbed on all sides. Indigenous communities compete with commercial interests for access rights. New laws compete with older laws for validity. Large companies subvert national law to serve their own interests. Adat, or customary law, influences the way many people think about land rights, with outright ownership less important than use and access, so that land and resources cannot be understood in terms of sole, exclusive property ownership. Chapter 2 explains the policy framework and competing interests in forest and land-conversion activities in Indonesia and explores motivations for resisting forest conservation.
