Background

Although compulsory up until the end of high school at 16, many children do not complete all stages of the Indonesian education system. In terms of education on the environment, this is introduced to the children in class 6, age 10 and 11. One could estimate that there a number of people in villages across Indonesia who have very little formal education and have only learned about their surrounding environment through working in agriculture or fishing. Even those that complete compulsory education may not have had the opportunity to further this at university.

Aims and objectives

The aim of this project was primarily to assess the environmental awareness of the local residents and school children in villages adjoining the Kakenauwe Forest Reserve. This would indicate the type of information which people would like to receive regarding the environment and lead towards recommending an appropriate means by which an education scheme designed to meet these needs could be designed.

Methodology:

This work heavily relies on interviews. The interviews have been conducted with a translator and have taken a semi-structured framework to gain qualitative data which does not restrict the respondent from voicing their opinions and should make the data more valid. Interviewees have included teachers from local schools, the kepala desa of local villages and local residents. These were designed to gain a representative picture of the state of environmental education and the opinions of local people as to its success in raising environmental awareness. Two sessions with school children have also been initiated which involved discussing environmental issues and examining their perceptions of conservation. These interviews with local communities have been backed up with discussions involving professional people who have been active in local environmental groups in the past in order to identify the potentials and pitfalls associated with an environmental awareness programme. These have been complemented by an analysis of previous environmental awareness programmes which have been run by Operation Wallacea in Labundobundo in the past.

Results

As data collection is ongoing, the following is based upon personal observations rather than a detailed analysis of the interviews and discussions held during this project. It appears that residents in villages adjacent to the Kakenauwe Forest Reserve have a limited degree of environmental awareness in general. However, two villages studied display a greater awareness of the implications of forest removal in terms of environmental consequences, whilst the other two display a more pragmatic economic approach to conservation based upon the realisation of income from forest resources. This situation is variable, however, as there are a number of refugees recently arrived from the Moluccas in the region who are more concerned with the need for establishing a regular food supply than being active in conserving the forest.

Final report

The results of this project will be collated into a report entitled Environmental awareness and environmental education in central Buton by David Murray, University of Portsmouth. This will be completed by May 2002.