Contribution short abstract:

I show plural and conflictual human-environment relations in indigenous land management programs versus informal resource management by different indigenous Dayak groups in Kalimantan, Indonesia framed by concepts of political ecology and ontological anthropology.

Contribution long abstract:

Struggles on access and control of land, forest and mining products are vibrant in the context of massive resource extraction in Indonesia. Indigenous land management programs in Kalimantan, implemented by local indigenous Dayak groups, promise to secure access to land and resources and to strengthen political, economic and cultural participation. However, conflicts arise amongst different indigenous Dayak groups about the control of resources and about different 'plural' conceptualizations of the environment. Land and forest can provide a livelihood through subsistence economy, can be the abode of spirits or provide raw materials for the industry. The semi-nomadic group Dayak Punan Murung practice a contextual access and a relational approach to forested area and manage natural resources informally in the community what is common amongst communities in Southeast Asia. However, their plural conceptions of land and forest are rarely integrated into formal indigenous land management programs. In these programs, land should be mapped, bounded and in private ownership. Moreover, Punan Murung feel co-opted and instrumentalised by urban based indigenous Dayak organisation. Thus, hegemonic notions of nature are not only enacted by the state but also by dominant indigenous groups. I show that conflictual human-environment relationships are based on different conceptions of land or forest, which are embedded in political contexts. In order to conceptualize these conflictual or overlapping human-environment relations, I combine approaches from political ecology and ontological anthropology.