T The designation of forest areas constitutes a legal action undertaken by the government to determine the status, boundaries, location, and extent of a particular territory as a forest area. this process is regulated under article 15 of law number 41 of 1999 concerning forestry, in conjunction with articles 14 to 22 of government regulation number 23 of 2021. however, in practice, the designation of forest areas may give rise to disputes when the forest area gazettement process is not carried out carefully and transparently or fails to involve the affected communities, as occurred in sukawangi village, bogor regency. the issues examined in this thesis concern the mechanism for the designation of forest areas from the perspective of the state’s right to control, as well as the effective and equitable resolution of forest area disputes by taking the social forestry policy into consideration. this research employs a descriptive-analytical empirical juridical method. the data were collected through literature studies and interviews and were subsequently analysed qualitatively, with conclusions drawn using deductive and inductive reasoning. the findings indicate that the implementation of the forest area designation in sukawangi village has not fully complied with the applicable laws and regulations. therefore, legal efforts to resolve disputes concerning the designation of forest areas in sukawangi village should be pursued through a combination of non-litigation mechanisms that are administrative, participatory, and sustainable, while taking the social forestry policy into consideration.