PENCEGAHAN OVERKRIMINALISASI MASYARAKAT ADAT DAN LOKAL DALAM PENGUASAAN TANAH KAWASAN HUTAN DI DESA BENGKOLAN SALAK

Abstract

Land tenure conflicts within designated state forest zones remain a critical socioeconomic and legal issue in Riau Province, particularly affecting indigenous and local communities who have inhabited and managed these areas across generations. The implementation of forestry criminal law often reflects overcriminalization, wherein subsistence agricultural activities and customary land use are disproportionately subjected to punitive penal sanctions rather than administrative resolution or customary recognition. This community service program (Pengabdian kepada Masyarakat/PkM) aimed to enhance legal literacy, legal awareness, and conflict prevention strategies among the residents of Bengkolan Salak Village, IV Koto District, Rokan Hulu Regency. The methods employed encompassed participatory and dialogical legal counseling, interactive focus group discussions, distribution of practical legal handbooks, and case-based simulations regarding agrarian rights, Agrarian Reform Object Land (TORA), social forestry, and restorative justice mechanisms. A total of 91 local residents actively participated in this program. The evaluation results demonstrated a substantial increase in community comprehension regarding the legal distinction between State Forest and Customary Forest following the Constitutional Court Decision No. 35/PUU-X/2012, recognition of communal customary rights (hak ulayat), procedural rights against arbitrary criminalization, and non-litigation dispute resolution channels. This initiative reinforces the role of higher education institutions in advancing grassroots constitutional justice, safeguarding communal livelihoods, and preventing structural criminalization in forested rural regions.