Lubis notes that Dayak swidden agriculture has been practiced for more than 10,000 years and remains ecologically sustainable. Photo credit: author.
Abstract
The swidden farming practices of the Dayak people have persisted for millennia and remain integral to the social, cultural, and ecological systems of Borneo. However, in contemporary environmental discourse, these practices are often misrepresented as a major driver of deforestation. This article seeks to correct that narrative by analyzing swidden agriculture as a sustainable system and identifying the real actors responsible for forest degradation in Kalimantan. Our findings show that large-scale deforestation is primarily driven by corporate mining and oil palm industries, not Indigenous subsistence farmers.
Keywords: Swidden agriculture, Dayak, deforestation, local ecology, sustainability
Introduction
Amidst the global environmental crisis, traditional farming systems like swidden agriculture have been scapegoated as causes of deforestation—particularly in tropical regions such as Borneo. However, for the Dayak people, swidden agriculture is not only a livelihood strategy but a holistic ecological and spiritual system. Viewing this practice through the lens of political ecology and Indigenous knowledge systems, this study aims to rebalance the prevailing discourse that often marginalizes and criminalizes Indigenous communities.
Literature Review
Mochtar Lubis (1978) warned that modern society often misjudges tradition as backwardness, overlooking the deep ecological wisdom embedded within. Michael Dove (1985) demonstrated that Dayak swidden systems are guided by a sophisticated ecological logic that preserves forest resilience and social harmony.
Nancy Peluso (1992) emphasized that forest conflicts in Indonesia are rooted more in struggles over resource control than in mismanagement by Indigenous groups. Tania Li (2007) critically examined how state-driven development projects that exclude local ecological knowledge often exacerbate environmental degradation. These scholars collectively argue that acknowledging and incorporating Indigenous agricultural systems is essential to achieving sustainable development.
Methodology
This study employs qualitative-descriptive methods through an in-depth literature review. Sources include peer-reviewed academic publications, ethnographic accounts, and field-based reports that focus on Dayak swidden systems, land conflicts, and forest loss in Borneo.
Results and Discussion
Dayak swidden agriculture is not random or destructive. It follows a rotational cycle involving long fallow periods of 7 to 15 years, allowing forest regeneration and soil restoration. During this fallow phase, secondary forests regenerate, biodiversity increases, and nutrient cycles recover naturally.
Yansen (2018) observed that Dayak farmers practice multicropping systems (e.g., upland rice, pumpkins, peanuts, sugarcane, and medicinal herbs) that enhance food security and ecological resilience. Rituals accompany every step of land preparation, reaffirming the spiritual bond between humans and the forest. These practices reflect a landscape-scale stewardship rooted in Indigenous cosmology.
2. Fire Management and Misconceptions About Forest Fires
A common misconception is that Dayak swidden agriculture contributes to forest fires. However, fire is used in a controlled and ecologically responsible manner. Traditional knowledge includes firebreaks, wind assessments, and seasonal timing to avoid uncontrolled burns.
Read This Is Our Customary Forest, Not State Forest
Dove (1985) documented that controlled burns play a vital role in soil fertilization and the ecological regeneration of specific plant species. Equating these small-scale, intentional burns with industrial-scale fire clearing by corporations is a gross misrepresentation of Indigenous fire stewardship.
3. Industrial Deforestation: Scale and Impact
Data from Global Forest Watch and the Forest Peoples Programme show that Indonesia lost approximately 27.7 million hectares of tree cover between 2001 and 2020, with the majority of this loss driven by palm oil plantations, mining operations, and infrastructure projects in Kalimantan and Sumatra.
Unlike the mosaic landscape of swidden farms, corporate land clearing is vast, permanent, and ecologically devastating. Oil palm plantations rapidly replace biodiverse forests with monoculture crops, while open-pit mining leaves the land irreversibly degraded. In many cases, Dayak communities are dispossessed from ancestral lands through overlapping licenses or “development” initiatives.
Li (2007) called this process “dispossession through development,” where state-backed policies and corporate interests undermine Indigenous land rights under the pretext of modernization.
4. Knowledge Politics and the Criminalization of Indigenous Farmers
Dayak swidden farmers are increasingly criminalized under ambiguous anti-burning laws that do not differentiate between corporate-scale arson and traditional fire use. Cases of arrest and intimidation are rising, eroding Indigenous communities' ability to sustain their livelihoods and ecological knowledge.
Peluso (1992) highlighted how control over forest narratives is a form of political power. When Indigenous knowledge is delegitimized, the communities that have lived sustainably for centuries are labeled as perpetrators of environmental degradation.
5. Toward a Policy Framework Based on Local Wisdom
Recognizing swidden agriculture as a legitimate and sustainable land-use system is critical for forest conservation and climate resilience. Recent agroecological research shows that Indigenous farming systems are better adapted to climate variability and soil degradation than industrial agriculture.
Legal frameworks must shift from punitive to inclusive. Policies should guarantee land tenure for Indigenous communities, integrate local knowledge into forest management, and promote participatory governance models. Swidden farming is not merely a technique—it is a cultural ecology that sustains both human and forest communities in Borneo.
Conclusion
Dayak swidden farming is an ecologically sound and culturally grounded practice that has sustained forest landscapes in Borneo for centuries. Accusations that blame Indigenous farmers for deforestation are unfounded and reflect broader patterns of epistemic injustice. Large-scale deforestation is primarily driven by extractive industries, not traditional farming. Recognizing and supporting swidden systems is not only a matter of justice, but a pathway toward sustainable and inclusive environmental governance in the tropics.
-- Masri Sareb Putra, M.A.
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