Abstract: Forest areas in Dharmasraya have decreased from 85% in 2000 to 18% in 2014 while plantation increased from 3.5000 ha to almost 20.000 ha an increasing of 600%. The purposes of this study are to determine the characteristics of forest encroachers in the Dharmasraya District and to identify post-encroachment local land ownership. The study used household survey, key informants interview, secondary data collection and data were analysed using descriptive quantitative. The results showed that, the forest encroachers are a category of productive age with low levels of education, land ownership in Dharmasraya is communal clan land, the ruling clan Melayu of Minangkabau ethnic. Based on the characteristics of the economy, forest encroachers in Dharmasraya classified as upper-middle households., encroachment occurs because there is an opportunity to invest in land. There is no sanction to the people who sell and buy forest land, resulting in greater ownership of land for migrants than local communities. Weak law enforcement in this area facilitates forest land encroachment, the same also hold true for the government’s lack of attention and socialization to the community.