Managing Land Use and Its Constrains in Developing Agriculture: A Policy Brief to Indonesia

Land is a major factor to fulfill human needs by serving as the backbone of agricultural, industry, mining, public housing, and other human activities. Land use change is necessary and essential for economic development. Degraded land in Indonesia was 24.3 million ha in 2013, caused mainly by inappropriate land use. No soil and water conservation measures were applied in such areas to prevent severe erosion, sedimentation and degradation of water condition (quantity and quality) in the downstream area. Therefore, good land management practices are essential to sustain high agricultural productivity without degrading land and the associated natural resource bases and ecosystem services essential for sustaining land productivity. The aim of this review article is to recommend Indonesian government as a policy brief to address the issue of land use in Indonesia. It is intended also as a reference for researchers and policy makers working on land use issues in Indonesia.