Local Wisdom in The Preservation of Wonosadi Customary Forest: Between Keistimewaan and Vulnerability

Aris Shihabuddin

In Indonesia, conflicts often occur in the forestry sector between the government and indigenous communities. The main cause is triggered by the uncertainty of the status of ownership rights over customary land in forest areas, moreover the conflict is because indigenous peoples do not have a license to manage forests. In 2012, the Constitutional Court ruling No. 35/PUU-X/2012 was a breath of fresh air for indigenous peoples. The verdict concluded that customary forests are not part of state forests, and indigenous peoples have rights to their land, and are free from discrimination against their interests and rights that have been in the shadow of fear over land ownership rights.

Although there is a law that regulates the difference between state forests and customary forests, things are different in the Wonosadi customary forest located in Beji Village, Ngawen, Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta. The difference is because Yogyakarta has the authority of keistimewaan as stipulated in the Privileges Law No. 13/2012. One of the assertions in the law is about the authority of the “Kasultanan” in land management, so the Wonosadi customary forest has not been administratively recognised as a customary forest until now.

Based on the above discussion, this paper will explore the efforts of the Beji community in defending the Wonosadi customary forest through local wisdom values. In this case, I am not conflating state law with the authority of keistimewaan Yogyakarta’s, but here I seeks to recommend reasons for the presence of a policy on the status and legalization of Wonosadi customary forest to the Yogyakarta government through a study of the relationship between the local wisdom values of the Beji community and its implications for the preservation of Wonosadi customary forest.

Local Wisdom and The Preservation of Wonosadi Customary Forest

Indigenous peoples have a very important role in conserving and ensuring the sustainability of forests. Indigenous peoples not only coexist with forests, but also have local ecological knowledge that has been passed down from generation to generation (Alexander et al., 2011; Berkes, 2009; Brugnach et al., 2017; Green & Raygorodetsky, 2010; Nyong et al., 2007). Indigenous peoples also have a unique approach to preserving forests based on their own wisdom, as they understand that forests are not only material resources, but also an integral part of their lives. The same thing is also done by the Beji village community in preserving the Wonosadi customary forest. The local wisdom of the Beji community is a legacy from ancestors in the form of ecological knowledge, rituals, customs and customary laws (recommendations and prohibitions) that are always related to ancestors and the Wonosadi customary forest. However, here, I limits it to one form of local wisdom, namely the ritual: Sadranan.

On 1 August 2024, I made observations and met Mrs Sri as the guardian of the Wonosadi customary forest. Mrs Sri explained to me that the Sadranan ritual is an important moment to connect the Beji community, the Wonosadi customary forest and the ancestors. Sadranan ritual is performed on Monday Legi or Thursday Legi after the second harvest. This ritual is a manifestation of the Napak Tilas (literal translation: retrace ) of the last place of the community’s role model, Ki Onggoloco. In addition, the ritual is also intended for alms because the Beji community realizes that not only humans live in the forest area, but there are other living things (non-humans). Then, during the ceremony, the indigenous people perform various series related to forest conservation such as cleaning the forest, praying for protection and asking for blessings from the forest. Essentially, the reason this ritual is passed down from generation to generation is to maintain the diversity of historical values rooted in the Wonosadi Customary Forest. In fact, it is because of these deeply rooted values that the community’s awareness to continue to conserve the Wonosadi customary forest is inseparable.

The ritual above indicates an inter-subjective relationship between the Beji community, the forest, and the ancestors, where all entities, including non-humans such as the forest and the life in it, are seen as subjects with agents. This view is in line with Maarif’s (2019) thinking in the indigenous people paradigm, which emphasizes that indigenous people see non-human entities as subjects in relationships based on responsibility, ethics and reciprocity. Therefore, the phenomenon that occurs in the Beji community can be categorized as an inter-subjective relationship. The preservation of the Wonosadi customary forest by the Beji community represents their responsibility, rooted in local wisdom, to maintain historical values, biodiversity, and prevent exploitative actions. In addition, these values and responsibilities are manifested in various traditional festivals, such as the ceremony honoring ancestors held annually. This activity is a form of reflection by the Beji community to ensure that all actions related to the Wonosadi customary forest are directed towards the sustainability and welfare of all entities, both human and non-human. Thus, this inter-subjective relations paradigm can comprehensively explain the close relationship between local wisdom values and efforts to preserve the Wonosadi customary forest.

Keistimewaan And Vulnerabilities of The Wonosadi Customary Forest

As explained above, the Beji community has a strong and deep relationship with the Wonosadi customary forest. However, administratively, the status of Wonosadi’s customary forest has not been officially recognised because Yogyakarta has a keistimewaan authority regulated in the Keistimewaan Law No. 13/2012. Article 26 paragraphs 2 and 3 confirm that the people of Yogyakarta do not have private property rights over land, but only use rights, usage rights, and rental rights. Ownership and absolute authority over Yogyakarta’s land rests with the Kasultanan (SG: Sultan Ground) and Kadipaten (PAG: Pakualaman Ground).

The absoluteness of the Kasultanan’s authority is evident in the case of the Yogyakarta International Airport in Kulon Progo Regency (NYIA). Based on LBH’s report, in this case around 160 hectares of land is claimed as PAG land, which has been managed by the community and has a certificate of ownership. In addition, the government in handling this land acquisition case used a consignment system that was considered one-sided and even detrimental to the Kulon Progo community. Thus, the vulnerability of land conflicts in Wonosadi customary forest is very possible due to the absence of official status as customary forest followed by the absolute control of the Kasultanan’s authority on land in Yogyakarta.

The importance of having a clear administrative status for Wonosadi customary forest not only ensures its ecological sustainability but also provides significant positive impacts for the Beji community. This sustainability reflects a valuable legacy of long history, myths and local wisdom that has been deeply rooted in the Beji community. However, the potential of this heritage may be marginalized due to the dominance of Kasultanan authority that can ignore local values and interests in the name of development. Nevertheless, the Beji community continues to maintain and preserve the Wonosadi forest based on local traditions and values even without official recognition as a customary forest.

This paper is not conflating state law with the authority of keistimewaan Yogyakarta’s but exploring the efforts of the Beji community in defending Wonosadi customary forest through local wisdom values. The above narrative underlines the potential of Wonosadi customary forest to be marginalized if its Kasultanan’s authority ignores local values in the name of development.

Reference

Alexander, C., Bynum, N., Johnson, E., King, U., Mustonen, T., Neofotis, P., Oettlé, N., Rosenzweig, C., Sakakibara, C., Shadrin, V., Vicarelli, M., Waterhouse, J., & Weeks, B. (2011). Linking indigenous and scientific knowledge of climate change. BioScience, 61(6), 477–484. https://doi.org/10.1525/bio.2011.61.6.10

Berkes, F. (2009). Indigenous ways of knowing and the study of environmental change. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 39(4), 151–156. https://doi.org/10.1080/03014220909510568

Brugnach, M., Craps, M., & Dewulf, A. (2017). Including indigenous peoples in climate change mitigation: addressing issues of scale, knowledge and power. Climatic Change, 140(1), 19–32. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-014-1280-3

Green, D., & Raygorodetsky, G. (2010). Indigenous knowledge of a changing climate. Climatic Change, 100(2), 239–242. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-010-9804-y

Nyong, A., Adesina, F., & Osman Elasha, B. (2007). The value of indigenous knowledge in climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies in the African Sahel. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, 12(5), 787–797. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11027-007-9099-0

Maarif, S. (2019). Indigenous Religion Paradigm: Re-interpreting Religious Practices of Indigenous People. Studies in Philosophy, 44, 1–20.

Aris Shihabuddin is a graduate student in the Center for Religious and Cross-cultural Studies (CRCS), Graduate School, Universitas Gadjah Mada