Adaptability of customary forest institutions in Kerinci, Central Sumatra, Indonesia

The persistence of customs and the survival of common pool resources that are managed by the ‘traditional’ communities have been the subject of scholarly work and debate in the last few decades. The opinions of various scholars and theorists in anthropology, development studies, commons resources, and political ecology fall between two polar views. At one extreme, customs and customary communities are seen as static and their natural resource institutions subject to disintegration under the pressure of market forces, modern technology, and national development. The other view, which has gained ground in the last decade, attributes the continuation of customs and communal traditions of natural resource management to the ability of customary communities to uphold their institutions in engaging with broader socio-economic and political shifts. Despite the growing body of empirical and theoretical evidence on customary communities and their natural resource institutions, most studies have largely focused on the systems of rules, interpretation of customs, or changes in leadership of customary communities. Few have sought to examine how these institutions relate to the geographic landscape in which they operate and how they have modified or transformed each other. This study investigates how customary forest institutions in the Kerinci region of Central Sumatra, Indonesia have evolved in relation to changing pressures on their geographic territory. It focuses on three rural settlements near Kerinci Lake - Hiang, Keluru, and Lempur - that have been recognised by environmental organizations in Indonesia for engaging in forest conservation according to adat (customary) traditions. The study develops and uses the concept of territorialisation to explore the ways in which customary institutions and leaders reshaped their territories and authority by changing land use and access to forest areas in the context of shifts in market forces, expansion of territorial and resource control by Dutch iii colonial and post-colonial governments, and national development initiatives in restructuring regional and local governance. The study offers a richer understanding of how customary communities and their forest institutions in Hiang, Keluru, and Lempur have evolved in relation to their landscapes and continue to transform themselves in different ways. It shows that although romantic representations of adat may serve as a powerful rhetorical tool for environmentalists and adat communities in exerting their claims over resources, the deliberate association of these communities with archaic tradition and unchanging management practices is likely to disadvantage them in ongoing attempts at regional and local forest and landscape management. The study calls for an alternative approach which highlights the adaptability and dynamism of customary forest institutions and suggests that their resilience in facing change be harnessed for developing sustainable forms ofstate and local management ofregional landscapes and natural resources.