National Land Agency BPN - Republic of Indonesia (1995):
International Workshop on the Implementation of Rural Land Consolidation

5.2 Implementation of Land Consolidation

Initiated in the 1980's, Land Consolidation has up to now covered a total of 133 urban areas in 25 provinces, comprising 53,485 participants, on a sizes of 8,412.75
(Annex 1). Rural Land Consolidation covered 18 locations in 13 provinces, comprising 38,753 households, on a total sizes lands of 40,212.43 Ha (Annex 2).

Due to conditions, the Indonesia Land Consolidation has but reached its early stages which is the providing and reserving of lands rather than achieving ultimate goals of socio-economics and environmental prospects. Bearing these in mind, efforts are made for the assessing, evaluating, and reconsidering of relevant aspects of Land Consolidation. These being the legal framework; the institutional network, and the implementation of Land Consolidation itself.

By provision of article 2, section 2, of the Indonesian Basic Agrarian Ac (No. 5/1960), the implementation of Land Consolidation is put under BPN jurisdiction. This provide the government to regulate the usage of lands; to establish the relationship of man and land; and to confirm the legalities among subjects regarding land-related legal deeds. Implicitly, this calls for Landreform. However, as the holdings and usages of land did exist prior to any landuse planning, the reforming of lands is more emphasized on the consolidating of it.

It was upon such legal basic that the first Land Consolidation in Renon, Bali (1982) took place prior to the issuing of a ministerial protocol (1985) and BPN decree (1991) on practicalities and procedures of Land Consolidation.

Eventually, the involvement of a variety of department in any Land Consolidation programs will have to be coordinated on a Government Regulation level A draft of such ruling is now in process.

In comparison to what was practiced in Japan, Taiwan, the Netherlands, and Germany (a part from being in its early stages), the Indonesia Land Consolidation is also of an experimental nature.

In Japan, the Land Readjustment Act (Kukaku-Seiri) enacted in 1897 and revised in 1954 has been most effective for the developing of areas as has it also been a basis for city planning.

In Taiwan, land consolidation as being part of land reform was preceded by mass redistribution of rural lands (1958) aiming to optimize the use of Iands, especially in urban-fringe areas so also to anticipate the on-coming expansion of cities. The Taiwanese legal basis for land consolidation, comprises rows of land Acts, Regulations on rural land consolidation, land titling, and city planning. Executors of these are organizations in the Ministry for Home Affairs.

In the Netherlands, a 1924 enactment marked the start of Land Consolidation, mostly on farm lands, which was endorsed by department for Agriculture, Fishery and Natural Conservation whereas department for Housing, Physical and environment planning dealt with matters concerning Spatial Planning, subdivisioning of consolidated lands, and their managing of cost-equivalent-lands.

In Germany, land readjustment started way back in 1891 prior to the Frankfurt enactment of such law in 1902. After being effectively actuated along a course of go years, and act on Federal Buildings was promulgated in 1960, providing land consolidation as the concept for city planning. Executors to this act are the city administration and an appointed association by agreement of the Legislative Council.

Upon such global comparisons, it is thus to emphasis that in the Indonesia land consolidation scheme the features of "musyawarah dan mufakat" which is a people-oriented persuasive approach to getting to decisions, come strongly to the fore in absence of a specific Act for Land-Consolidation.

On the budgeting front, efforts are elaborated for an increase of budgetary funds to support implementations of land consolidation, either through government projectory budgets or community self financing funds. These are to boost better results in benefit of the societies concerned.