This book deals with the socio-legal aspects of the use and management of land and water
resources in (former) Luwu District (Kabupaten Luwu) in the Province of South Sulawesi (Propinsi
Sulawesi Selatan; These aspects of resource use in Luwu are analyzed in the context of the socio-economic, political and development policy environment that has a great impact on the ways rights to natural resources are defined and regulation takes place. Problems of governance and management of land and water resources in Indonesia show a remarkable continuity from colonial times onwards, and are characterized by a high degree of ‘messiness’ rather than linear progress and increasing control. State attempts to control land through registration and titling, the existence of different conceptions and definitions of land rights by various state and non-state actors, and the difficulties in coping with customary definitions of land rights are characteristic of the history of land policy from colonial times, and a continuing source of social tension.