ANALYSIS OF ECOPESANTREN IMPLEMENTATION: A CASE STUDY AT PONDOK PESANTREN PAGELARAN III, SUBANG, JAWA BARAT

• Main Author: Nuraziza M, Isni
• Format: Theses
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/34943
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Pesantren is a traditional Islamic education institution in Indonesia and has played an important role in education, religious, social, and economic development in the society. This institute has been growing rapidly in Indonesia. The form and size of pesantren varies enormously. Given their numerous presence, pesantren can be strategically used as a medium for diffusion of good environmental practices to the society. In 2008, government of Indonesia (Ministry of Environment) launched a program called "Eco-Pesantren” intended to stimulate environmentally friendly practices by applying ecological principles in pesantrens? activities. Since then, several pesantrens have adopted and implemented the concept of Ecopesantren in various forms. In order to know, how far is the application of ecological principles in pesantrens and what are the obstacles in the application, a measuring tool is needed. This study aimed to firstly develop a set of indicators to assess the implementation of Ecopesantren, secondly to use the constructed indicators to assess environmental sustainability in a pesantren selected as a case study (Pesantren Pagelaran III) and, thirdly, to develop a management strategy based on the assessment results to transform the Pesantren Pagelaran III to become an Ecopesantren. The study consisted of three stages, i.e., development of Ecopesantren indicators, assessment of Ecopesantren implementation in a selected pesantren, and development of management strategy for transforming the selected pesantren to be an Ecopesantren. A set of Ecopesantren indicators were constructed by reviewing literature to select the relevant indicators and adjusting those indicators with condition of pesantrens. The indicators were firstly selected from Ecopesantren indicators set by the Ministry of Environment and some indicators based on the concept of sustainable environment (i.e. ecovillage, sustainable community, and sustainable development). Applicability of the selected indicators were determined through survey conducted to eight pesantrens which located in Bandung, Subang, Sumedang, Garut, and Indramayu. The final set of Ecopesantren indicators consisted of 46 indicators of management practices which are divided into 4 dimensions: institutional (4 indicators), social (10 indicators), economic (5 indicators), and environment (26 indicators). Those set of indicators were then used to assess the environmental sustainability of Pondok Pesantren (PP.) Pagelaran III which has not been “labeled” as an vi Ecopesantren. The result shows that some form of Ecopesantren practices have been applied in this pesantren, i.e. management of land use; provision of places of worship, health, and sports; social activities, and extracurricular activities. Successful implementation of the Ecopesantren practices were mainly in social dimension (7 of 10 indicators) and economic dimensions (3 of 5 indicators); most practices within environmental dimensions have not been in place. For example, the management of natural resources and waste management have not been done optimally in PP. Pagelaran III. The reason for this condition was that PP Pagelaran III have not considered environmental aspects as a major part of its management. This is shown by none of practices in the institutional dimension have been applied in the PP. Pagelaran III. In summary, the level of application of Ecopesantren in PP. Pagelaran III, judged by the number of management practices conformed to the Ecopesantren indicators, was 34% (16 of 46 indicators). This low level of Ecopesantren implementation was due to lack of understanding and concern of society on the environment and the limited financial and human resources. Therefore, in order to become an Ecopesantren, it is important that this pesantren take some actions to increase understanding of environmental management and optimization of existing resources at Pesantren Pagelaran III. The management strategy proposed for doing so includes intensifying the role of Kyai in guiding the process of transformation, development of curriculum and learning methods to improve the student interaction with nature; construction of supporting facilities for environmental management, recruitment of environmental experts, and optimization of land-uses. Optimization of land-use can be done by creating a living pharmacy garden of medical plants and creating natural laboratory in schools for showing cases of biodiversity conservation, implementing biopore for water conservation and implementing bio-based water treatment techniques for waste management, and developing freshwater fish culture to support the economy activities and as learning facilities for the students.