Gunung Halimun Salak National Park, known as “The heart of Java”, is a 400 km2 conservation area in the Indonesian province of West Java on the island of Java . The park in its present form is an amalgamation of two important ecosystems at Mount Halimun and Mount Salak, which are connected by an 11-kilometer forest corridor. It is inhabited by the Kesepuhan traditional Sundanese community, a group of around 5,300 people who live in the southern part of the park in small scattered villages.

The park was first created in colonial times as a nature reserve. At the same time the colonial state also established plantations in the same area and moved people from elsewhere to work in the plantations.  The original nature reserve on the Halimun mountain was expanded in the year 2003 from the original 40,000 ha to some 113,357 ha, including the Salak mountain .  This expansion included the saddle between Halimun and Salak, large parts previously managed by the State Forest Corporation, indigenous peoples territories and lands long settled and cultivated by local communities.  A gold mine operated by a state corporation borders the mine. In the past, many local people were also involved in artisanal gold mining.

Several NGOs have long worked with indigenous and local communities on issues of rights and improving livelihoods, attempting to reconcile conservation needs and development needs. This is in line with the State’s requests for forest conservation, while on the other hand promoting the development of economic activities subsequently raising local revenues and livelihoods for the inhabitants. In this context, the park is affected by multiple interests of different stakeholders. On one hand, besides the numerous rice plantations, several tea plantations in and around the park demand freedom to operate, a geothermal plant on Mount Halimun is being developed, and a Japanese project is promoting eco-tourism through an enterprise ‘Pesona Malasari’ offering several ‘tourist packages’. On the other hand, local people claim a use right to the land, while indigenous people want their existence and their rights to be recognized.