Hutan memegang peranan penting bagi keberlangsungan hidup masyarakat, terutama bagi mereka yang menggantungkan hidupnya pada sumber daya hutan. Akses masyarakat ke kawasan hutan negara (state property) telah menjadi isu penting dalam kajian terkait pengelolaan sumber daya hutan. Upaya masyarakat untuk mengakses hutan negara, tidak jarang dianggap sebagai tindakan ilegal (illegal access). Akan tetapi, melalui program Perhutanan Sosial, pemerintah memberikan akses legal (legal access) bagi masyarakat untuk memanfaatkan sumber daya hutan. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kualitatif dengan teknik observasi partisipasi dan wawancara mendalam. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa masyarakat mekanisme akses berbasis hak (legal access) dan mekanisme akses struktural relasional (otoritas, identitas sosial, modal, pasar, patronase, dan lain-lain) untuk memperoleh, mengontrol, dan mempertahankan akses mereka atas pemanfaatan lahan di kawasan hutan negara, serta telah terjadi ketimpangan distribusi manfaat yang disebabkan perbedaan power dan elite capture.

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Forests play an important role for the survival of the community, especially for those who depend on forest resources for their lives. Community access to state forest areas (state property) has become an important issue in studies related to forest resource management. Community efforts to access state forests are often considered as illegal access. However, through the Social Forestry program, the government provides legal access for the community to utilize forest resources. This study uses a qualitative method with participatory observation techniques and in-depth interviews. The results of this study indicate that the community has a rights-based access mechanism (legal access) and a relational structural access mechanism (authority, social identity, capital, market, patronage, etc.) to obtain, control, and maintain their access to land use in the area. state forests, and there has been an imbalance in the distribution of benefits due to differences in power and elite capture.