What Is Land Consolidation? What Does It Mean?

Before we go further to understand the meaning of land consolidation, the development of rural areas is relying on structural change. That being so, the idea of land consolidation is used to improve and develop a land infrastructure amidst limited land.

To help you understand the whole concept of land consolidation as well as its purpose and outcome, let us dive into this article!

What Does Land Consolidation Mean?

Land plot in aerial view. Include landscape, real estate, green field, agricultural plant, pin location icon. For housing subdivision, residential, development, owned, sale, rent, buy or investment.

Land consolidation is a land policy with regard to land restructuring control and use as well as its acquisition efforts for the purpose of development, environmental quality improvement and natural resources preservation by involving active community participation.

As stated by the Head of National Land Agency (Or BPN, stands for Badan Pertanahan Nasional) Regulation No. 4/1991 regarding Land Consolidation, it is the restructuring of control, ownership, and use of land according to spatial planning. However, this regulation has been revoked as it has not been fully accommodated the development and the need for land consolidation groundwork.

Land consolidation includes the rearrangement of land parcels that involve land rights and land use that is equipped with road infrastructure, irrigation, environmental facilities and or other necessary supporting facilities, with the participation of landowners or land cultivators.

On May 27, 2019, the Government of the Republic of Indonesia established the new Regulation of the Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning (Menteri Agraria dan Tata Ruang) or Head of the National Land Agency (Kepala Badan Pertahanan Nasional) of the Republic of Indonesia Number 12 of 2019 concerning Land Consolidation.

The term “land consolidation” is something more than its simple rearrangement of parcels to restructuring lands and seeking higher agricultural productivity and lower costs. However, the driving power is the understanding that the agricultural structure improvement is viewed as being equal and comparable to maintaining the social viability in rural areas, what is good for the farmers is good for rural areas as well as the urban areas.

So, What Are the Purposes of Land Consolidation?

Land

Land consolidation can be an effective tool in rural development, providing landowners with new opportunities to improve their state of affairs. As for the purposes of land consolidation are to:

• Actualize the use and utilization of land optimally.
• Increase efficiency and productivity of land and space used.
• Improve environmental quality.
• Provide legal certainty of rights to land and space above and or under the land.

Furthermore, Regulation No. 12/2019 is aiming to create a good living environment in accordance with spatial planning. But generally, the purpose of land consolidation is to reconstruct a poorly constructed area into more sustainable and productive land.

Then, Is Land Consolidation Important?

excavator in construction site on sunset sky background

The answer is simply, yes. Land consolidation plays a vital role to improve and promote rural development and its management of natural resources. Land consolidation builds on the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of public and private investments in transportation and communication networks, utilities and irrigation systems. This being said, land consolidation can also promote social stability—which will promote the growth of Small Micro Medium Enterprises (Usaha Menengah Mikro Kecil or UMKM) that leads to better social amenities for the society.

How Is the Implementation of Land Consolidation?

excavator in construction site on sunset sky background

The locations that become the priority for urban land consolidation are mainly areas where it is undergoing rapid growth. Then, it will be the area where public facilities are limited, slum and isolated areas followed by post-conflict or disaster areas.

Whereas the participants of land consolidation are rights holders or land cultivators of the location who declare their consent to participate in the land consolidation program. By all means, land consolidation is part of an urban development that can improve a sustainable environment and agriculture. That being said, notwithstanding the difficulties that land consolidation will face, land consolidation programs should always aim to ensure that owners are holding to its original value—which are land improvement, development and efficiency.