Political Ecology of Agrarian Change in Social Forestry among the Tana Ai Community in Sikka Regency, East Nusa Tenggara

Abstract

This paper examines how the dynamics of Social Forestry, which serves as a means of establishing new spaces/territories, trigger agrarian, social, economic, and ecological changes in communities, and even give rise to socio-territorial conflicts between the state and local communities. Building on the political ecology perspective, this article addresses two interrelated questions. First, how have successive processes of state territorialization reshaped agrarian relations, resource access, and Indigenous control over forest landscapes in Tana Ai? Second, how do competing actors—including the state, a religious non-state actor, and the Tana Ai Indigenous community—contest territorial authority, and how does the community mobilize counter-territorialization through customary institutions and ritual practices?. The research location is Sikka Regency, East Nusa Tenggara Province (NTT). Data collection methods include: literature review, participant observation, in-depth interviews, and ethnography. Informants were selected because they have knowledge, positions, and roles, and they were also developed using the snowball method. Data analysis uses qualitative descriptive methods. This study found that the Tana ‘Ai ethnic community in Sikka Regency has experienced pressure and injustice related to land (agrarian) management from ancient times to the present, from the highlands (forest areas) to the coastal areas (ex-HGU). Currently, they are trying to maintain the symbol of cultural pride amid agrarian changes related to the management of their living areas, which they are still fighting for.