DOI: https://doi.org/10.14710/jhp.14.2.459-495

SUBMERGED OR DESTROYED? RECONSTRUCTING AGRARIAN JUSTICE FOR COASTAL COMMUNITIES AFFECTED BY TIDAL FLOODING IN INDONESIA

*Bunga Desyana Pratami orcid  -  Faculty of Sharia, Universitas Islam Negeri K.H. Abdurrahman Wahid Pekalongan, Indonesia
Imaro Sidqi  -  KU Leuven, Belgium

Citation Format:
Abstract

Tidal flooding increasingly threatens coastal land tenure in Indonesia by altering the physical condition, legal status, and socio-economic function of land. The central problem is the absence of clear legal parameters distinguishing temporarily submerged land from permanently destroyed land, despite the different consequences for land rights, certificates, registration records, and state responsibility. This study examines and reconstructs the legal protection of tidal-flood-affected land through Ronald Dworkin’s theory of justice as integrity. It employs doctrinal legal research using philosophical-hermeneutic, statutory, and conceptual approaches, focusing on the Basic Agrarian Law, Article 28H(4) of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, and Regulation of the Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/Head of the National Land Agency No. 17 of 2021. The study finds that the existing framework remains predominantly administrative, lacks firm criteria for transitional land conditions, and provides inadequate remedies for affected rights holders. Land should be classified as submerged where its boundaries remain identifiable, its legal relationship with the rights holder continues, and its physical or socio-economic function can still be restored. In such cases, land rights, certificates, and registration records must remain protected, supported by rehabilitation and administrative safeguards. Land may be classified as destroyed only where it has permanently lost its physical existence, identifiability, and socio-economic function. Although this classification may terminate land rights, it does not extinguish the state’s obligations toward former rights holders. Applying justice as integrity, this study reconstructs land-status determination by placing constitutional rights, equal concern and respect, socio-economic continuity, and proportional state responsibility at its core. Accordingly, the legal framework should require transparent procedures, meaningful participation, objections and remedies, fair compensation, appropriate relocation, and long-term socio-economic recovery. Indonesian agrarian law therefore requires reformulation to integrate administrative legal certainty with substantive justice and progressive climate-responsive protection for coastal communities affected by tidal flooding.

Fulltext View|Download Email colleagues
Keywords: Tidal Flooding; Submerged Land; Agrarian Justice; Justice as Integrity; Coastal Communities

Article Metrics:

Article Info
Section: Articles
Language : EN
Most cited articles
Hukum Progresif: Hukum yang Membebaskan Pembangunan Hukum Negara dalam Masyarakat Multikultural: Perspektif Hukum Progresif Arsenal Hukum Progresif More cited articles
  1. Adger, W. Neil, and Cecilia Luttrell. ‘Property Rights and the Utilisation of Wetlands’. Ecological Economics 35, no. 1 (2000): 75–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0921-8009(00)00169-5
  2. Aditya, Trias, Purnama Budi Santosa, Yulaikhah Yulaikhah, Nurrohmat Widjajanti, Dedi Atunggal, and Miranty Sulistyawati. ‘Title Validation and Collaborative Mapping to Accelerate Quality Assurance of Land Registration’. Land Use Policy 109 (October 2021): 105689. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2021.105689
  3. Ali, Mohammad Mahrus, Zaka Firma Aditya, and Abdul Basid Fuadi. ‘Coastal Communities Protection of Constitutional Rights: The Urgency of Harmonization of Integrated Coastal Management Regulations’. Jurnal Konstitusi 17, no. 4 (2020): 799–827. https://doi.org/10.31078/jk1745
  4. Amrin, Reza Nur, Anan Haji Imantaka, Enny Tatagelo Narince Yanengga, and Gita Cahyani Maulida. ‘Status Hukum Hak Atas Tanah Yang Terkena Bencana Alam’. Tunas Agraria 5, no. 1 (2022): 65–76. https://doi.org/10.31292/jta.v5i1.168
  5. Angella H., Cherry, Felicia Vanesa Japri, Henna Kurniasih, Maureen Linus, and Yosia Clementino Moningka. ‘Problematika Perlindungan dan Pemenuhan Hak Konstitusional Masyarakat Adat’. NUSANTARA: Jurnal Ilmu Pengetahuan Sosial 10, no. 6 (2023): 2885–95. https://doi.org/10.31604/jips.v10i6.2023.2885-2895
  6. Bell-James, Justine, James A. Fitzsimons, and Catherine E. Lovelock. ‘Land Tenure, Ownership and Use as Barriers to Coastal Wetland Restoration Projects in Australia: Recommendations and Solutions’. Environmental Management 72, no. 1 (2023): 179–89. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-023-01817-w
  7. BonJour, Laurence. ‘The Philosophy of Law’. Teaching Philosophy 2, no. 3/4 (1977): 325–28. https://doi.org/10.5840/teachphil197723/427
  8. Byrne, J. Peter. ‘The Cathedral Engulfed: Sea-Level Rise, Property Rights, and Time’. Louisiana Law Review 73, no. 1 (2012): 69–118. https://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/facpub/1126/
  9. Daryono. ‘The Transformation of Land Law in Indonesia: The Persistence of Pluralism’. Asian Journal of Comparative Law 5 (2010): 1–32. Cambridge Core. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2194607800000259
  10. Dong, Wan Shiao, Aminah Ismailluddin, Lee Shin Yun, et al. ‘The Impact of Climate Change on Coastal Erosion in Southeast Asia and the Compelling Need to Establish Robust Adaptation Strategies’. Heliyon 10, no. 4 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e25609
  11. Dworkin, Ronald. ‘Confronting the End of the Socialist Era’. Economy and Society 20, no. 4 (1991): 341–49. https://doi.org/10.1080/03085149100000017
  12. Dworkin, Ronald. ‘Does Law Have a Function? A Comment on the Two-Level Theory of Decision’. The Yale Law Journal 74, no. 4 (1965): 640–651. https://doi.org/10.2307/794614
  13. Dworkin, Ronald. ‘Equality, Democracy, and Constitution: We the People in Court’. Alberta Law Review XXVIII, no. 2 (1989): 13–36. https://doi.org/10.29173/alr1605
  14. Dworkin, Ronald. Freedom’s Law: The Moral Reading of the American Constitution. Harvard University Press, 1996
  15. Dworkin, Ronald. ‘In Praise of Theory’. Arizona State Law Journal 29 (1997): 353–376. https://archives.yale.edu/repositories/12/archival_objects/2979179
  16. Dworkin, Ronald. Justice in Robes. Harvard University Press, 2006. https://doi.org/10.1353/book.146
  17. Dworkin, Ronald. ‘Justice in the Distribution of Health Care’. McGill Law Journal 38, no. 4 (1993): 883–898. https://lawjournal.mcgill.ca/article/justice-in-the-distribution-of-health-care/
  18. Dworkin, Ronald. ‘Law as Interpretation’. Critical Inquiry 9, no. 1 (1982): 179–200. https://doi.org/10.1086/448194
  19. Dworkin, Ronald. ‘Lord Devlin and the Enforcement of Morals’. The Yale Law Journal 75, no. 6 (1966): 986–1005. https://doi.org/10.2307/794893
  20. Dworkin, Ronald. ‘No Right Answer’. Business Communication Quarterly 62, no. 4 (1999): 7–8. https://doi.org/10.1177/108056999906200402
  21. Dworkin, Ronald. ‘On Not Prosecuting Civil Disobedience’. The New York Review. 1968. https://www.nybooks.com/articles/1968/06/06/on-not-prosecuting-civil-disobedience/
  22. Dworkin, Ronald. ‘Philosophy, Morality, and Law. Observations Prompted by Professor Fuller’s Novel Claim’. University of Pennsylvania Law Review 113, no. 5 (1965): 668–690. https://doi.org/10.2307/3310807
  23. Dworkin, Ronald. ‘Political Judges and the Rule of Law’. Maccabaean Lecture in Jurisprudence, 1979
  24. Dworkin, Ronald. ‘Seven Critics’. Georgia Law Review 11 (1977): 1201–68
  25. Dworkin, Ronald. ‘Social Rules and Legal Theory’. The Yale Law Journal 81, no. 5 (1972): 855–890. https://doi.org/10.2307/795153
  26. Dworkin, Ronald. ‘Social Sciences and Constitutional Rights’. Educational Forum 41, no. 3 (1977): 271–80. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131727709336251
  27. Dworkin, Ronald. Taking Rights Seriously. Bloomsbury Publishing Inc., 1997
  28. Dworkin, Ronald. ‘The Case for Law-A Critique’. Valparaiso University Law Review 1, no. 2 (1966): 215–217. https://openyls.law.yale.edu/entities/publication/3e0a9814-7519-4210-9686-00f24026e9ff
  29. Dworkin, Ronald. ‘The Concept of a Moral Position’. In Philosophy Then and Now: An Introductory Text with Readings, edited by N. Scott Arnold, Theodore M. Benditt, and George Graham. Wiley-Blackwell, 1998
  30. Dworkin, Ronald. ‘The Model of Rules’. The University of Chicago Law Review 35, no. 1 (1967): 45–77. https://doi.org/10.2307/1598947
  31. Dworkin, Ronald. ‘The Original Position’. University of Chicago Law Review 40, no. 3 (1973): 500-533. https://doi.org/10.2307/1599246
  32. Dworkin, Ronald. Wasserstrom: The Judicial Decision. Ethics, vol. 75. no. 1 (1964): 47–56. https://doi.org/10.1086/291520
  33. Dworkin, Ronald. ‘We Do Not Have a Right to Liberty’. In Readings in Social and Political Philosophy, edited by Robert M. Stewart. Oxford University Press, 1986
  34. Dworkin, Ronald. ‘What Is the Rule of Law?’ The Antioch Review 30, no. 2 (1970): 151–155. https://doi.org/10.2307/4637281
  35. Dworkin, Ronald. ‘Why Efficiency? A Response to Professors Calabresi and Posner’. Hofstra Law Review 8, no. 3 (1979): 563–90
  36. Dyzenhaus, David. ‘Dworkin and Unjust Law’. In The Legacy of Ronald Dworkin, edited by Wil Waluchow and Stefan Sciaraffa. Oxford University Press, 1 May 2016. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190466411.003.0007
  37. Essert, Christopher. ‘A Theory of Legal Obligation’. In The Legacy of Ronald Dworkin, edited by Wil Waluchow and Stefan Sciaraffa. Preprint, Oxford University Press, 1 May 2016. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190466411.003.0011
  38. Fuller, Lon L. The Morality of Law. Yale University Press, 1969
  39. Gordon, Randy D. Rehumanizing Law: A Theory of Law and Democracy. University of Toronto Press, 2011
  40. Hadi, Hasrul. ‘Strategi Adaptasi Dan Relokasi Permukiman Warga Akibat Bencana Banjir Pasang Air Laut’. Jurnal Geodika 1, no. 1 (2017): 10–23. https://doi.org/10.29408/geodika.v1i1.3009
  41. Hanifah, M. Haryo, and Alief Noor Anna. ‘Analisis Dampak Banjir Rob Terhadap Perubahan Struktur Sosial Dan Ekonomi Masyarakat Pesisir (Studi Kasus Kecamatan Sayung, Kabupaten Demak)’. Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta, 2022
  42. Harsono, Boedi. Hukum Agraria Indonesia, Sejarah Pembentukan UUPA, Isi, Dan Pelaksanaan. Djambatan, 1999
  43. Harvey, Nick. ‘Protecting Private Properties from the Sea: Australian Policies and Practice’. Marine Policy 107 (September 2019): 103566. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2019.103566
  44. Komnas HAM RI. Upaya Negara Menjamin Hak-Hak Kelompok Minoritas Di Indonesia. Jakarta, 2016
  45. Koswara, Nur Salsabila, Benny Djaja, and M. Sudirman. ‘Perlindungan Hukum Terhadap Hak Milik Atas Tanah Yang Hilang Akibat Abrasi’. Jurnal JURISTIC 6, no. 01 (2025): 9. https://doi.org/10.56444/jrs.v6i01.5991
  46. Kusuma, Marza Aditya, Liesnoor Dewi Setyowati, and Purwadi Suhandini. ‘Dampak Rob Terhadap Perubahan Sosial Masyarakat Di Kawasan Rob Desa Bedono Kecamatan Sayung Kabupaten Demak’. Journal of Educational Social Studies 5, no. 2 (2016): 121–27. https://journal.unnes.ac.id/sju/jess/article/view/14076
  47. Latifaturrohmah, Tsabita, and Rochmat Junarto. ‘Perlindungan, Penegakan Dan Pemenuhan Hak Atas Tanah Korban Lumpur Lapindo’. Tunas Agraria 6, no. 1 (2023): 56–70. https://doi.org/10.31292/jta.v6i1.204
  48. Lund, Christian. ‘An Air of Legality – Legalization Under Conditions of Rightlessness in Indonesia’. The Journal of Peasant Studies 50, no. 4 (2023): 1295–316. https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2022.2096448
  49. McDonnell, Siobhan. ‘The Importance of Attention to Customary Tenure Solutions: Slow Onset Risks and the Limits of Vanuatu’s Climate Change and Resettlement Policy’. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 50 (2021): 281–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2021.06.008
  50. McGlashan, Derek J., Robert W. Duck, and Colin T. Reid. ‘Unstable Boundaries on a Cliffed Coast: Geomorphology and British Laws’. Journal of Coastal Research 24, no. sp1 (2008): 181–88. https://doi.org/10.2112/04-0333.1
  51. Megananda, Mirza, and Akhmad Safik. ‘Case of Land Ownership Encroachment Reviewed from Agrarian Law Aspects: A Case Study of Verdict No: 255 K/TUN/2021’. Daengku: Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Innovation 4, no. 4 (2024): 656–66. https://doi.org/10.35877/454ri.daengku2733
  52. Moore, Wayne D. ‘Sovereign Virtue: The Theory and Practice of Equality’. Political Science Quarterly 116, no. 1 (2001): 158–60. https://doi.org/10.2307/2657842
  53. Mulyani, Lilis. ‘Gambling with the State: Land Titles and Personhood Rights among the Urban Poor in Indonesia’. Asian Journal of Law and Society 2, no. 2 (2015): 285–300. Cambridge Core. https://doi.org/10.1017/als.2015.11
  54. Nurhidayah, Laely, and Alistair McIlgorm. ‘Coastal Adaptation Laws and the Social Justice of Policies to Address Sea Level Rise: An Indonesian Insight’. Ocean & Coastal Management 171 (April 2019): 11–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2019.01.011
  55. O’Donnell, Tayanah. ‘Contrasting Land Use Policies for Climate Change Adaptation: A Case Study of Political and Geo-Legal Realities for Australian Coastal Locations’. Land Use Policy 88 (November 2019): 104145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104145
  56. O’Donnell, Tayanah. ‘Interrogating Private Property Rights and Path Dependencies for Coastal Retreat’. Ocean & Coastal Management 231 (2023): 106379. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2022.106379
  57. Pinuji, Sukmo, Walter T. de Vries, Trisnanti W. Rineksi, and Wahyuni Wahyuni. ‘Is Obliterated Land Still Land? Tenure Security and Climate Change in Indonesia’. Land 12, no. 2 (2023): 478. https://doi.org/10.3390/land12020478
  58. Pratami, Bunga Desyana, Rindiana Larasati, Sri Ratu Ratna Intan, and Iqbal Kamalludin. ‘Status Hukum Tanah Musnah Berdasarkan Permen ATR/BPN No. 17 Tahun 2021’. Jurnal Officium Notarium 1, no. 2 (2021): 218–29. https://doi.org/10.20885/jon.vol1.iss2.art2
  59. Ricoeur, Paul, and John B. Thompson. Hermeneutics and the Human Sciences: Essays on Language, Action and Interpretation. Cambridge University Press, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316534984
  60. Rudiarto, Iwan, Wiwandari Handayani, and Jawoto Sih Setyono. ‘A Regional Perspective on Urbanization and Climate-Related Disasters in the Northern Coastal Region of Central Java, Indonesia’. Land 7, no. 1 (2018): 34. https://doi.org/10.3390/land7010034
  61. Sakti, Anjar Dimara, Yusa Inderapermana, Akiyuki Kawasaki, et al. ‘Coastal Flood Mitigation Under Dynamic Shoreline Change: Integrated Modeling Approach’. Environmental Technology & Innovation 41 (March 2026): 104726. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eti.2025.104726
  62. Saputri, A. D., and A. M. Linda. ‘Kebijakan Pemerintah Dalam Menangani Dinamika Subsidensi Tanah Di Tambakrejo Semarang’. Jurnal Hukum Lex Generalis 4, no. 3 (2023): 234–50. https://doi.org/10.56370/jhlg.v4i3.356
  63. Schwab, Anna K., David Brower, and Timothy Beatley. An Introduction to Coastal Zone Management. Princeton University Press, 2002
  64. Strack, Mick. ‘The Order Is Rapidly Fadin’: Responding to the Impact of Climate Change on Property with Reference to the Aotearoa New Zealand Context’. Journal of Property Planning, and Environmental Law 12, no. 1 (2019): 19–34. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPPEL-03-2019-0007
  65. Sudana, Ervan Hari, Djoni S. Gozali, and Akhmadi Yusran. ‘Asas Keadilan Dalam Pengadaan Tanah Bagi Pembangunan Untuk Kepentingan Umum’. Notary Law Journal 1, no. 1 (2022): 49–62. https://doi.org/10.32801/nolaj.v1i1.3
  66. Sundari, Indri Laras. ‘Status Penguasaan Tanah Sempadan Pantai Oleh Masyarakat Di Pesisir Pantai Ujong Blang Lhokseumawe’. Locus Journal of Academic Literature Review 2, no. 2 (2023): 97–116. https://doi.org/10.56128/ljoalr.v2i2.130
  67. Sutikno, Rizky Syahputra. ‘Hukum Agraria Dan Kebijakan Agraria Di Indonesia’. Court Review: Jurnal Penelitian Hukum 3, no. 03 (2023): 22–27. https://doi.org/10.69957/cr.v3i03.702
  68. Suwandi, Dedy, A. Heru Nuswanto, and Acel Novrikar. ‘Legal Vacuum Regarding State Responsibility for Flood Disasters in Indonesia’. Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Social Environment Diversity (ICOSEND 2025), 30 April 2026, 261–65. https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-565-2_33
  69. Utrecht, E. ‘Land Reform in Indonesia’. Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies 5, no. 3 (1969): 71–88. https://doi.org/10.1080/00074916912331331482
  70. Verschuuren, Jonathan, and Jan McDonald. ‘Towards a Legal Framework for Coastal Adaptation: Assessing the First Steps in Europe and Australia’. Transnational Environmental Law 1, no. 2 (2012): 355–79. https://doi.org/10.1017/S204710251200009X
  71. Wenta, Joseph, Jan McDonald, and Jeffrey S. McGee. ‘Enhancing Resilience and Justice in Climate Adaptation Laws’. Transnational Environmental Law 8, no. 1 (2019): 89–118. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2047102518000286
  72. Wibawa, Satriya Parama Putra, Priyo Katon Prasetyo, and Sudibyanung Sudibyanung. ‘Kelayakan Nilai Ganti Kerugian Tanah Musnah Sebagai Penanganan Dampak Sosial Pada Pengadaan Tanah’. Widya Bhumi 3, no. 2 (2023): 152–72. https://doi.org/10.31292/wb.v3i2.63
  73. Widiawaty, Millary Agung, Sunardi Sunardi, Moh. Dede, and Nana Nur Afriana. ‘Climate Change Impacts on Indonesian Coastal Communities: A Study of Shoreline Changes, Sea-Level Rise and Social Adaptation’. Journal of Maps 22, no. 1 (2026): 2658875. https://doi.org/10.1080/17445647.2026.2658875
  74. Wijaya, Nurrohman, Mizan Bustanul Fuady Bisri, Adiwan Fahlan Aritenang, and Aria Mariany. ‘Spatial Planning, Disaster Risk Reduction, and Climate Change Adaptation Integration in Indonesia: Progress, Challenges, and Approach’. In Disaster Risk Reduction in Indonesia: Progress, Challenges, and Issues, edited by Riyanti Djalante, Matthias Garschagen, Frank Thomalla, and Rajib Shaw. Springer International Publishing, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54466-3_9
  75. Zikra, Muhammad, Suntoyo, and Lukijanto. ‘Climate Change Impacts on Indonesian Coastal Areas’. The 2nd International Seminar on Ocean and Coastal Engineering, Environment and Natural Disaster Management, 2014 14 (January 2015): 57–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeps.2015.07.085
  76. Zuardin, Zuardin. ‘Banjir Rob: Potensi Kerentanan Lingkungan Serta Penanggulangannya’. Al-Ard: Jurnal Teknik Lingkungan 1, no. 2 (2016): 58–66. https://doi.org/10.29080/alard.v1i2.116

Last update:

No citation recorded.

Last update: 2026-08-15 14:27:10

No citation recorded.