In an effort to address the challenges of village land management, the Master of Litigation Law Program of the Faculty of Law, Gadjah Mada University (UGM), held a legal counseling session entitled "Optimizing Village Land in the Special Region of Yogyakarta: Legal Strategies and Best Approaches." The event took place on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, in Canden Village, Jetis Subdistrict, Bantul Regency. The workshop ran from 9:00 a.m. to 11:40 a.m. Western Indonesian Time.
It is hoped that this event will provide village officials and the community with comprehensive legal insight into the appropriate and equitable management of village land.
The workshop featured legal experts such as Tony Yoga Saksana, S.H., Judge of the Boyolali District Court, Class 1B; Andika Romadona, S.H., Prosecutor from the Yogyakarta High Prosecutor's Office; and Mohd. Sulthoni, S.H., Commissioner of the Yogyakarta Ombudsman Institution. The speakers discussed various legal issues related to village land management and provided legal solutions and strategies that can be implemented by village stakeholders. The event was moderated by Putri Marta M., S.H., an advocate and a 2023 Master of Law Litigation student at Gadjah Mada University (UGM).
One of the key points conveyed in this workshop was the role of village land management in supporting the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda, particularly point 11 concerning Sustainable Cities and Communities. Village land plays a key role in sustainable regional development planning. Therefore, proper and legally sound management can not only avoid land disputes but also improve community welfare by optimizing the use of land resources for the common good.
The speakers at this workshop discussed the importance of a thorough understanding of the law regarding village land management to avoid potential overlapping land ownership and use. Emphasis was placed on the need for village officials to understand the basics of land law so that village land can be managed fairly and sustainably. Furthermore, the challenges of integrating community interests with government policies were highlighted, particularly in accelerating village development while upholding the principle of justice. Strict and transparent oversight of village land management was also deemed crucial to ensuring accountability and sustainable land use.
This legal outreach is expected to improve the capacity of village officials and the community to better manage village land, while simultaneously encouraging more inclusive and sustainable village development, in line with the SDGs targets. As a concrete step, the event also provided a space for interactive dialogue, where participants could directly discuss the legal issues they face with the speakers.
With this outreach, it is hoped that village officials and the community will have better legal knowledge to optimally manage village land, thereby creating a balance between development interests and environmental sustainability in the Special Region of Yogyakarta.
Penulis: Moralina Aweda Naresworo (Magister Hukum Litigasi)
Editor: Public Relations
