Recognized forests and the afterlives of Indigenous land rights in Indonesia

Fall 2026 Harry ’51 and Joshua ’49 Tsujimoto Perspectives in Global Development and the Environment Seminar Series

About the speaker

Micah R. Fisher, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at the Matsunaga Institute for Peace & Conflict Resolution at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and Senior Researcher with the Forest and Society Research Group at Hasanuddin University in Makassar, Indonesia. He studies how land, forests, and livelihoods are transformed across Indonesia and Southeast Asia through commodity booms, conservation policy, and shifting resource claims. This research is grounded in over two decades of long-term fieldwork in South Sulawesi, East Kalimantan, and Jakarta. He is co-Editor-in-Chief of Forest and Society, a leading journal in Southeast Asian forest governance, and serves as Conference Chair of the 2027 Biennial of the International Association for the Study of the Commons, to be hosted in Sulawesi, Indonesia. He also leads the Henry Luce Foundation–funded LuceSEA Transitions Field Schools, a partnership with Southeast Asian universities. He holds a Ph.D. in Geography and the Environment from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. His current book project, Inheritance, traces the aftermath of the first formal return of state forest lands to an Indigenous community in Indonesia.

Abstract

The formal return of land to Indigenous communities has gained increasing legitimacy as a global climate and environmental justice initiative. However, translating policy ideals into governing reality often masks the structural reconfigurations that follow. Drawing on long-term policy engagement and sustained ethnographic research with the Kajang Indigenous community in South Sulawesi, Indonesia—the first to secure formal Indigenous recognition of state forests—I situate the context of recognized forests. In following the afterlives of land returns in Kajang, I show what happens to the forests themselves and the more significant changes happening beyond their borders. I argue that formal recognition functions as a reconfiguration of control, challenging the assumption that legal title inherently secures Indigenous autonomy. I demonstrate how specific, state-mediated visions of Indigeneity and development ultimately dictate which forests and whose livelihoods are permitted to endure. This has broader significance for social movements and advocacy networks that aim to secure formal recognition elsewhere. I conclude with a framework for making sense of similar policy approaches.

About the seminar series

The Harry ’51 & Joshua ’49 Tsujimoto Perspectives in Global Development and the Environment Seminar Series showcases innovative approaches to development with experts from around the globe. Each year, the series attracts online registrants from over 45 countries and more than 350 organizations. 

Seminars are held Wednesdays from 12:20-1:10 p.m. Eastern time during the semester in 175 Warren Hall. Students, faculty and the general public are welcome to attend in-person or via Zoom.

The series is co-sponsored by the Sections of Global Development and Natural Resources and the Environment and the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management as part of courses GDEV 4961, AEM 4961, NTRES 4961, GDEV 6960, AEM 6960, and NTRES 6960.