Guguk village in Indonesia protect their customary forest

The customary community Marga Pembarap of Guguk village in the province of Jambi, Indonesia have a long history of living off and caring for their customary forest. The right to manage their forest was only interrupted during the era of president Suharto (1966 – 1997) when a concession was granted to a logging company. In 2003, the head of the Merangin district (bupati) issued a formal statement confirming that this area of customary forest belongs to the people of Guguk. With the help of KKI Warsi and the EU-supported program ‘CSOs standing Shoulder to Shoulder in defence of forest livelihoods’, the village has applied with the Ministry of Forestry to get the official recognition of a hutan adat (customary forest). Ahmad Salim Ridwan (KKI WARSI)^[1]Ahmad Salim Ridwan is Regional Coordinator West Sumatra & Jambi at KKI WARSI and Evelien van den Broek^[2]Evelien van den Broek is senior expert Environmental Justice at IUCN NL (IUCN NL) report. 

Header photo: Guguk village © Evelien van den Broek / IUCN NL

The village of Guguk is located in the district of Merangin in Jambi, close to the border with the province of West Sumatra. The community of Guguk is part of a broader customary community (masyarakat adat) called the Marga Pembarap. In the 1970s, their customary land was split into Guguk and three other villages. Originally, the Guguk settlement was to the south of the Merangin river in an extended forested area – Bukit Tapanggang – that is part of the watershed of the Batanghari, Sumatra’s longest river. In the 1950s, the Guguk settlement moved to the northern bank and the old settlement became part of the customary forest again.     

Adat and ceremonies

Guguk’s customary forest of 690 hectares is managed by customary law (adat) aimed at preserving the high biodiversity – at least 84 tree species, several species of monkeys (among others the siamang, an endangered arboreal, black-furred gibbon), bears, wild pigs, tigers, trekking elephants, eagles and hornbills. The adapted customary law (2003), titled ‘Agreement to Manage and Protect Guguk’s Customary Forest’, was signed by the heads of the three hamlets in Guguk village, the village head, adat leaders, religious leaders, representatives for women and young people and the village council. After logging company PT Injapsin was found to be illegally logging in the customary forest, it had to pay a symbolic fine in accordance with adat – one buffalo, 100 tins of rice (around 320 kg), 100 coconuts and other foods including cooking spices, sugar and coffee. In a customary ceremony that was attended by the whole community and representatives of the company, the symbolic compensation was celebrated with a ceremony, food and drinks. According to the adat chief of Guguk, the importance of the symbolic fine was the recognition of the principle that customary communities have the right to control their natural resources. In 2003, another large traditional ceremony was held after the district head (bupati) of Merangin formally stated that the customary forest belongs to the people of Guguk.  

Photo: Merangin river near Guguk village. © Femke Schouten / IUCN NL

Forest management

Decisions on land ownership, natural resource use, security and social issues are made by the Adat Council, which is comprised of the heads of the extended families or sub-clans who in turn select the customary leader. In general, the customary leader is responsible for adat issues as a whole. The adat stipulates that all of the forest in the customary domain belongs to the customary community and is controlled by adat institutions.  

The management of the hutan adat is the responsibility of the Forest Management Group (FMG), established in 2003. Its forest management plan, which is also part of a village by-law, distinguishes between several types of forest use. There are different rules for each type. Certain areas of forest, mainly on the steepest slopes, are protected. It stipulates that logging is prohibited within 25 metres of streams and 50 metres from riverbanks and describes the procedures to approve any forest exploitation and how to deal with offenders. The forest management plan describes the functions of the hutan adat as a source of timber for the community homes and village facilities; as a source of honey, fruits and medicinal plants; to protect wildlife; and as a location for ecotourism. Collecting fruits^[4]Tree fruits in the forest – such as tampoi (Baccaurea macrocarpa), bidaro (Eurycoma longifolia), ambacang (a kind of mango) and rambutan hutan is allowed, if trees are not damaged. The FMG carries out regular patrols of the hutan adat, including to the furthest boundaries – some three days walk away – and then report back to the group’s fortnightly meetings. In practice, the whole community plays a role in protecting the forest, as anyone who hears a chainsaw will go to find out what is going on. Anyone breaking the local regulation on the use of the hutan adat has to pay a symbolic fine in the form of a goat, cans of rice or the cash equivalent. Any fines or fees collected are divided up between the village treasury (40%), the Forest Management Group (30%), the clan funds (20%) and the village youth organisation (10%). If the offender refuses to pay, they will be prosecuted through the formal legal channels. 

Buffer zone Kerinci Seblat National Park 

Image: map of Hutan Desas in buffer zone Kerinci Seblat National Park.

With support of KKI Warsi, Guguk village managed to get recognition of its 690 hectares customary forest (hutan adat) from the district head (bupati) of Merangin in 2003. Afterwards, the Merangin forestry service provided Guguk with 50,000 tree seedlings as part of its Watershed Rehabilitation project. Moreover, as a token of recognition, the Jambi provincial government awarded the village with the Kalpataru, a prestigious environmental prize. To prevent the issuance of another logging concession in the hutan adat, it is crucial to also get official recognition from the ministry of Forestry. Guguk’s hutan adat will strengthen the buffer zone of Kerinci Seblat National Park.  

Under the EU-backed programme ‘CSOs standing Shoulder to Shoulder in defence of forest livelihoods’, KKI Warsi, Walhi and IUCN NL are supporting communities around Kerinci Seblat National Park to secure a permit to manage their forest as Hutan Desa, Hutan Kemasyarakatan or Hutan Adat and thus establish a buffer zone around the park. 

Feminist Participatory Action Research 

The NGO Aksi! contributes to the programme by organising and empowering the women with Feminist Participatory Action Research (FPAR^[5]Source: https://unfccc.int/climate-action/momentum-for-change/activity-database/feminist-participatory-action-research). FPAR is a conceptual and methodological framework that enables a critical understanding of complex oppressive structures and relationships that undermine social justice^[6]Source: https://www.fparacademy.com/. It is an approach that centres gender and women’s experiences, accounts for intersectionality, and aims to challenge systems and structures to improve the lives of marginalised women. 

In February 2025, members from the IUCN NL and KKI Warsi teams were received in the office of the Guguk village government. Here, the women present illustrated the impact of the FPAR session organised by Aksi! just a week prior. The village head and the head of the Forest Management Group presented the history and the management of the adat forest, after which the floor was taken by the head of Guguk’s women group, mrs. Minarni. She discussed the FPAR session and emphasised the important role women play in the sustainable management of the forest and in the village economy. For instance, the women are engaged in collecting forest products and manage homestays for eco-tourists. Militantly, she challenged the men in the room to also include women in the FMG and in other decision-making village institutes.   

Aksi! will continue to support the Guguk community in strengthening the role and place of women and ensure that all capacities (of men, women, young and old) are used to protect the forest and improve the livelihoods.   

Recognition Hutan Adat 

The people of Guguk village are well organised and determined to preserve their hutan adat. Now it is up to the forest minister to recognise the Guguk hutan adat, block the way for logging concessions in this high-biodiversity forest, and thereby strengthen the buffer zone around Kerinci Seblat National Park.  

This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of Evelien van den Broek / IUCN NL and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.