Showing posts with label agraria. Show all posts
Showing posts with label agraria. Show all posts
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World Water Day: Dee & Tweed HELP workshop (Live Broadcast)

Friday, March 5, 2010

The UNESCO Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science at the University of Dundee will be holding a workshop with a focus on land use and water management. Following is the release I received from the organizer: 

"The University of Dundee’s UNESCO Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science is takes a leap into the world of online conferencing for the celebration of World Water Day next month, on the 22nd March.  This event will be broadcast live via the internet, both through live audio-visual and a transcript of proceedings in real time.  Global participants to this free online event will be encouraged to provide immediate feedback to the conference speakers and organizers and to share comments with one another through an online forum facility.  The focus will be on the work of the UNESCO Centre in the Tweed valley, in particular the interface between land use and water management.  Comparisons will be made with other UK river valleys, in particular the Dee and the Thames.  The conference will showcase global water issues and the multidisciplinary work of the UNESCO Centre in promoting the importance of water law and hydrological science in helping to achieve more consensual and informed water policy and practice.  World Water Day was inaugurated in 1993, since when it has been a focus globally for action on water issues, including promoting fair and equitable access to transboundary watercourse and groundwater resources of freshwater."

 In order to participate in this online conference, please sign up below:



Events


For enquiries, please contact UNESCO Centre's Knowledge Exchange Coordinator Daniel Gilbert at d.gilbert[at]dundee.ac.uk

 

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Indonesia needs a good squatting law?

Sunday, July 22, 2007

I have just watched Robert Neuwirth's presentation at the 2005 TED Talk. He explained that in 2030, there will be 2 billion squatters, or one in every people in the planet is a squatter. In his presentation, he explained some squatter laws in several countries, for example the 24-hour rule in Turkey which established that if a person manages to erect a building in 24 hours, they cannot be evicted without court orders.

What Neuwirth has elaborated is enermously significant, my latest newspaper article also discussed this issue:
In a recent report, the United Nations Family Planning Agency (UNFPA) predicted half the world's population would be living in cities by next year, with the figure expected to grow.

This presents challenges for more effective land use, transportation and the fulfillment of minimum daily subsistence. Cities that fail to meet these challenges will become "failed cities", marked by the rise of megaslums.

In addition to the focus towards FEW (Food-Energy-Water) laws and infrastructure, these developments requires a reformulation of property rights, which can be in the form of (i) limitation of land-ownership period, (ii) redistribution of land-ownership in cities after several generations, (iii) developing squatting laws, (iv) access to local politics.

As for the squatting law part, Neuwirth mentioned the Russian example which passed a law to allow rural land occupants to gain legal title to their holdings, as advocated by Hernando de Soto.

To get a grip on this issue, watch Neuwirth's TED presentation here:



 

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Can foreigners own land in Indonesia?

Friday, January 19, 2007

This is a quite common question being asked to lawyers. The answer is "no". Under the 1945 Constitution Article 33 land and water, and the natural resources found therein, shall be controlled by the state and shall be exploited for the maximum benefit of the people. Thus, foreigners are barred from having Right of Ownership/Hak Milik (somewhat equal to the common law's freehold title) to land.

But, of course there is always a way to get around it.

The first way is to purchase and indirectly 'own' land through nominee agreement. This way the foreigner gives an amount of money to an Indonesian citizen (the "nominee") to buy a land, through a power of attorney (PoA). The PoA must clearly and specifically elaborates that the money belongs to the foreigner and that the nominee is a mere executor. It must also specify that the foreigner has the rights to enjoy and execute all rights commonly attached to the land -- including but not limited to -- lease, sale, rent, etc without the consent with the nominee. The nominee must waives all of its rights normally accorded by land titles.

The second way is by establishing an Indonesian company, and the company owns the land through the right to build title/HGB. Foreigners can own up to 100 per cent of shares in a company provided that the initial share distribution has to be 95:5 (5% to be owned by the Indonesian Partner). Owning through a company is relatively safer as all liabilities are protected by a shield of legal entity. Through this scheme the company can own the land for an initial 30 years and it is extendable up to 20 years.

All transactions above must be conducted by notarial deeds and to be executed before a land deed official. Right to use land, right to build and right to exploit land is regulated through Government Regulation No. 40 Year 1999, available here (in Bahasa).