Spatial Claiming through Keban Lewa Lolon: Local Wisdom, Coastal Zoning, and Spatial Justice in Solor Island

Karolus Tatu Sius, Yasinta Palan Peten, Hendrikus L Kaha, Veronika Lamahoda, Paulus Adrianus K.L Ratumakin

Abstract


Formal coastal zoning in Indonesia is established through legal frameworks and spatial planning, yet in practice, it may diverge from community-based governance and local knowledge. This study analyzes how the keban lewa lolon in the villages of Bubu Atagamu and Lewograran (Solor Island) functions as a local institution to manage access to marine space and negotiate recognition within state governance. Employing a qualitative-comparative case study design, the research utilizes in-depth interviews, participant observation, and document analysis. The concept of "institutional bricolage" is used to trace the processes of aggregation, alteration, and articulation. Findings reveal that the keban lewa lolon evolved from a concept inspired by terrestrial food granaries into a hybrid institution with regulatory, normative, and cognitive functions; it divides a 61.97-hectare area into a core zone (20.74 ha), a buffer zone (13.05 ha), and a utilization zone (28.18 ha). Claims of justice are primarily evident in the distribution of access, participation in rule-setting, and the recognition of local authority and knowledge. Indications of ecological recovery stem from community monitoring and are not treated as definitive causal evidence. Theoretically, this article demonstrates that local wisdom can be analyzed as a political arena and a hybrid institution, rather than merely as cultural capital or a conservation tool. More broadly, the Solor case enriches Global South debates regarding how communities negotiate the plurality of rules, scales of authority, and spatial justice in natural resource governance.

Keywords


keban lewa lolon; coastal zoning; local wisdom; spatial justice; RZWP3K.

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References


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.33373/jtp.v10i2.9615

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