Indigenous Social Movements, Commodifications, and Climate Justice in 21st Century North Sumatra

This is a recap on the first Sagonese Dialogue Series: “Indigenous Social Movements, Commodification, and Climate Justice in 21st-century North Sumatra.” Held in hybrid format, online and on campus at the University of Göttingen (Foyer International), 18 October 2025.

The session features Tongam Panggabean (PhD Candidate in Sociology of Globalization, Hochschule Fulda, former Director of Bakumsu) and is moderated by Sekar Yunita (PhD Candidate in Forest Economics and Sustainable Land-Use Planning, University of Göttingen).

1. Colonial Legacies and the Politics of Land Ownership

“Maps serve as a mediating function between the deployment of power on the one hand, and the construction of knowledge on the other hand” (Harley, J.B, as cited in Cartographica, 1989: 422)

The state and Indigenous communities perceive maps—and, by extension, land—through very different lenses. Since independence, Indonesia has retained the colonial legacy of the Domain Verklaring, which declared that all land without formal ownership titles belongs to the state. Building on this principle, the state has established regulations defining how land can be used, by whom, and within fixed territorial boundaries. These boundaries, however, often feel alien to Indigenous and local communities, whose relationship with land is based on customary practices, collective stewardship, and spiritual ties rather than formal demarcation. Despite these contrasting worldviews, the state continues to promote land-use expansion and resource commodification as pathways to economic growth, particularly through mining, logging, and large-scale agriculture such as palm oil and rubber production.

2. The Paradox of Conservation

“Sometimes conservation can be problematic and backfire on local communities.”

In the era of the climate crisis, nature conservation has become a central theme in global discourse. Governments around the world are racing to position themselves as climate leaders, often employing technical jargon to legitimise their actions. Terms such as ecosystem services, carbon credits, and biofuel crops evoke the image of sustainability and a transition away from fossil fuels. However, because the state continues to operate within a colonial framework that centralises land authority, Indigenous and local communities are often excluded from decision-making processes, including those related to conservation and climate initiatives. As a result, acquiring these so-called “green” resources often requires land to meet strict market-based criteria, reproducing long-standing injustices such as limited local participation and land dispossession under the guise of environmental progress. Consequently, policies framed as “green growth” frequently translate into large-scale, state-supported mining and agroforestry projects. In many cases, this phenomenon of green grabbing has deepened existing land conflicts (WALHI, 2025).

3. Reclaiming Land, Reclaiming Identity

“There has been movement and resistance, but sometimes it is unorganised.”

Drawing on the concept of strategic essentialism, Tongam explains that land can be reclaimed as a relational and communal resource rather than a market commodity. Stakeholders surrounding marginalised communities can help strengthen solidarity economies, commons, and community land trusts—initiatives that resist enclosure by global markets through knowledge production, frontline activism, and grassroots engagement.

However, many ‘unknowns’ remain in navigating these social movements. Tongam highlights three key aspects that require ongoing attention and reflection:

1. Articulation of indigeneity: how Indigenous identity is expressed in struggles for collective land rights and control over resources, often entangled with multiple and multilevel interventions.

2. Redefinition through negotiation: how indigeneity is continuously reinterpreted through local interactions among communities, elites, the state, intermediaries, and development actors such as NGOs.

3. Intersection with other movements: how indigeneity connects and overlaps with broader frameworks such as agrarian reform, human rights, and environmental movements.

Author:

Sekar Yunita is a doctoral researcher at the Department of Forest Economics and Sustainable Land Use Planning, University of Göttingen. Her research is part of Small4Good, an EU-funded project exploring payments for ecosystem services and small forest owners across Europe. Before her PhD, she worked as an advisor with GIZ Indonesia on forest governance and sustainable development.