Indonesia, which attended the conference as a representative from Asia, was invited to the conference in recognition and appreciation of the country’s achievement in its Complete and Systematic Land Registration (PTSL) program. Indonesia shared its experiences and best practices in its good land governance with the delegates from other countries.

Indonesia’s program is fundamental for three major reasons.

First, it provides legal certainty for landowners. The primary agrarian problem in Indonesia is the lack of land title ownership.

In most cases, land ownership is hereditary. For decades, this de facto form of ownership has been considered adequate for many societies. But such a mindset has led to legal disputes and conflicts. Land can be claimed by other parties at any time.

To provide legal certainty, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo implemented the land registration program in 2017 program to promote justice and prosperity for all.

Second, land registration provides access to the economy. Indonesia has more than 65 million micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that absorb 97 percent of the workforce and contribute 61 percent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). They are the backbone of the national economy.

Their biggest challenge, however, is that they have limited capital. If they possess land titles, they can legally apply for soft loans from the banking system and other financial institutions. In the end, this can generate significant economic value added and growth.

Third, land registration also provides legal protection from land grabbers, more popularly known in Indonesia as “land mafia”. Last year, the government task force responsible for dealing with land grabbing decisively prevented more than US$800 million in potential losses from land-related crimes.

However, many landowners remain reluctant to register their land. They do not want to bother with the administrative red tape and are concerned about the obligation to pay taxes.

Therefore, the government must first change the public mindset. People must clearly understand the benefits of possessing land titles, and the risks of not having them.

The results of the program have been quite exceptional. In 2017, only 46 million land parcels had been registered. Currently, the government has registered 112 million land parcels out of its target of 126 million. Over the last seven years, there has been an increase of almost 250 percent. So, we are optimistic that by 2025, we can achieve our target.

There are three key factors to achieve success in land registration.   

First, leadership and management. It is all about transformational leadership that is capable of translating vision into strategy and strategy into action by capitalizing on all the national resources. This is especially important given the country’s size and complexity politically, socially and economically.

Since the beginning of the program, President Jokowi has demonstrated his strong political will to build successful coordination among the various ministries and local administrations to speed up the program. The central government’s commitment has subsequently inspired local governments to take part and provide incentives such as the waiving of the first-registration tax. Good cooperation and support from the House of Representatives also produces sound regulatory instruments and budget allocations.

Second, the people’s participation and collaboration. Because of the limited number of land surveyors, the Agrarian and Spatial Planning Ministry has involved the private sector, which fulfills the government’s professional standards, to conduct wide-scale land surveys. Land data collection is achieved through bottom-up community participation in collaboration with village heads and local leaders.

Some communities that practice customary law are still reluctant to certify their customary land because they are afraid of losing the rights to their land to the state. To overcome this issue, the government worked hard to gain the people’s trust by respecting local wisdom and culture in various provinces such as West Sumatra, Papua and other regions.

Third, an adaptive approach to new challenges and opportunities. The government is currently focusing on digital transformation in all aspects of the bureaucracy, including the implementation of electronic land certificates. The process will be faster, more efficient, more transparent and safer for everyone.

The government is targeting 104 regencies and cities to have implemented its electronic certification services by the end of 2024. To achieve the target, training programs have been increased for the officials in charge of the electronic registration system.

Finally, in line with climate action, the government is currently reviewing and improving the land and spatial regulations to allow for effective implementation of carbon trading. Such an initiative would not only mitigate the climate crisis, but would also bring economic benefits to all parties involved.

Jobs would be created and new opportunities unlocked, and this would contribute to the realization of sustainable and equitable economic growth.

 ***

The writer is agrarian affairs and spatial planning minister and head of the National Land Agency. The article is based on his presentation in the World Bank Land Conference in Washington, DC on May 13, 2024.