Komunikasi Lingkungan dalam Keberlanjutan Pelestarian Hutan di Desa Medewi Kecamatan Pekutatan Kabupaten Jembrana

Abstrak

Deforestation constitutes a global ecological issue that necessitates sustainable conservation efforts. The implementation of sustainable forest conservation is closely related to the practice of environmental communication. Medewi Village, located in Jembrana Regency, is one of the villages that possesses community-managed forest areas, which are utilized by local residents (pengawen) as an economic resource. The authority to manage this forest area has been delegated to the Medewi Village Forest Management Institution.

Environmental communication in support of sustainable forest conservation in the village is primarily carried out through traditional means, including the use of symbolic communication—such as the saput poleng, a culturally significant cloth that symbolizes balance and harmony. In addition, the community adopts local cultural practices, including the tanam tuwuh cultivation system and the wana kertih forest preservation philosophy.

However, from a modern perspective, the Medewi Village Forest Management Institution has not yet fully utilized technological tools in implementing environmental communication strategies. This limitation is largely due to the inadequate capacity of human resources (HR), which has led to misunderstandings within the community concerning forest management and conservation. These misunderstandings have contributed to instances of forest encroachment by local residents, driven by a lack of awareness and understanding of forestry regulations and management procedures.

Keywords:

environmental communication, forest conservation