Promoting Green Islam: PPIM UIN Jakarta Reveals Its Latest Research on Eco-friendly Islamic Boarding School
Jakarta, UIN Online News - In effort to promote environmental awareness in Islamic educational institutions, particularly pesantren, the Center for Islamic Studies and Society (PPIM) UIN Jakarta published research findings "Pesantren Ramah Lingkungan" through the REACT (Religious Environmentalism Actions) program on Wednesday (19/2/2025).
Religious Environmentalism Actions (REACT) is a program initiated by PPIM UIN Jakarta and directly supported by the Dutch government. This program amalgamates religious principles with environmental initiatives by motivating religious groups: Islamic boarding schools, educational institutions, and organizations, to boost their engagement in environmental conservation activities.
"We identified key strategies: waste management, land use for gardening, and water conservation efforts, which have become integral existence of the pesantren." Didin Syafruddin, Ph.D., the Executive Director of PPIM UIN Jakarta, revealed authentic practices of environmental preservation in pesantren.
Moreover, he highlighted two focal points of this study: examining the correlation between religion and environmental awareness, and assessing the execution of sustainable initiatives in Islamic educational establishments like in pesantren.
"We aspire for the findings of this research to promote greater community engagement in environmental stewardship, while simultaneously reinforcing the ethical and moral underpinnings of the environmental preservation movement," he encouraged.
Basnang Said, Ph.D., M.R.E., B.R.E., the Director of Diniyah Education and Islamic Boarding Schools of the Ministry of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, asserted that Islamic boarding schools play crucial role in fostering environmental consciousness.
"Environmental awareness should be ingrained early in students' daily lives, whether through the curriculum, daily practices, or specialized sustainability programs. Imagine a conservation movement supported by thousands of Islamic boarding schools and millions of students; it undoubtedly creates great potential to foster a healthier environment," he explained.
He also noted that challenges may occur during the execution of environmental initiatives inside Islamic boarding schools, and hence he advocates for cooperation among all Islamic educational institutions, the government, and numerous stakeholders to assure the program's viability.
According to monitoring by UIN Online News on https://www.youtube.com/@ppimuinjakarta, this study comes out with six conclusions regarding ecologically sustainable pesantren.
1. The study identifies three steps of periodization in the execution of ecologically sustainable initiatives in pesantren.
- Initial phase which emphasis on socio-economic challenges in rural regions
- Movement phase when pesantren bcomes a conservation initiative.
- Programmatic phase where variety of eco-friendly behaviors and practices exist
2. Mapping of eco-friendly pesantren: Of the 361 pesantren, 269 had implemented environmental preservation. The predominant ecologically sustainable initiatives in pesantren are afforestation and garbage control.
3. The motivation for Islamic boarding schools to adopt ecologically sustainable programs is mostly influenced by economic and ecological considerations.
4. The notion of "Greening Islam" integrates Islamic principles with eco-friendly actions: garbage charity, oxygen charity via tree planting, and the endowment of water sources by rehabilitating contaminated springs to restore their purity.
5. Sustainable environment are supported by eco-friendly pesantren practices such as incorporating waste management, conservation, biodiversity, sustainable agriculture and livestock, alternative energy, water and power efficiency, environmental education, and the advancement of eco-friendly infrastructure.
6. The sustainability problems for environmental projects in pesantren include limited internal resources, dependency on pesantren's warden, and reliance on external support.
To guarantee the sustainability of the eco-friendly pesantren program, it is essential to enhance human resource capacity, optimize land and spatial planning, and collaboration with stakeholders.
(Sabila Weliza/Aida Adha Siregar/Zaenal M./Muhamad Arifin Ilham)