In Indonesia the utilization of land and natural resources is still the main driver of the economy. In practice, the use of land and natural resources is often driven by a development model oriented towards economic growth which triggers a high demand for land and raw materials from natural resources, thus creating a competitive situation, which if not managed, can easily give raise to a myriad of conflicts. Complaints about conflicts related to land and natural resources continue to increase over time even though conflict resolution initiatives from the Government and other parties are continuously being carried out.

On the other hand, conflicts over land and natural resources are causing losses to all parties. Not only losses in the form of uncertainty about the future (due to conflict), financial losses but also conflicts are causing the country’s competitiveness for domestic and foreign investment to decline.

The escalation of conflicts over land and natural resources can also easily transform into social conflicts. Management of land and natural resources conflicts with best practices will minimize the seeds of other conflicts and also help national goals for equitable and sustainable development.