Written by Danial Sutami
March 7th 2022
A total of 50 Islamic boarding schools in the Java and Sumatra regions will become pioneer boarding schools in the Eco-Islamic Boarding School program, a program initiated by the Center for Islamic Studies at the National University (PPI-UNAS) to increase the capacity of Muslim youth in facing the challenges of climate change through environmental education.
To prepare for the implementation of the eco-pesantren program which will last until 2024, PPI-Unas held a consultation activity on the design of the eco-pesantren program with the leaders of Islamic boarding schools, ministries, organizations, practitioners, and experts in the field of education and the environment, held on the UNAS Campus, Pejaten, Jakarta, and online through Zoom on Wednesday, January 19, 2022.
Director of Diniyah and Islamic Boarding Schools, Ministry of Religion of the Republic of Indonesia, Waryono Abdul Ghafur, welcomed this eco-pesantren program initiative as an example for the other Islamic boarding schools spread across 34 provinces in Indonesia.
“Now the number of Islamic boarding schools in Indonesia has reached 36,000. If the Eco-Islamic Boarding School program is able to create pesantren based on the environment, it will become a strength for pesantren that are independent and have a role in providing broad benefits for the wider community.” Ghafur said.
The head of PPI UNAS, Dr. Fachruddin, explained that this consultation was aimed at obtaining input from the leaders of Islamic boarding schools who have taken the initiative to implement environmental education and curriculum, as well as synergize with environmental and energy programs that have been developed by ministries and organizations at the community level or within educational institutions.
Fachruddin remarked, “The input from these parties will strengthen the Eco-Islamic Boarding School program to be implemented at the field level, including tracking activities for the eco-pesantren program, namely an independent assessment of environmental educational activities and policies that they have implemented digitally.”
Fachruddin further explained that efforts to increase the awareness and capacity of Muslim youth to face the challenges of climate change and environmental damage are now an urgent need considering the magnitude of the impact that will be faced if these efforts are not carried out immediately.
“The Eco-Islamic Boarding School program is an effort to implement the values of Islamic teachings as a blessing for the universe through education. In Indonesia, Islamic boarding schools play a very strategic role not only in the education system but also in changing behavior in the community, including efforts to increase awareness of the impacts of climate change and environmental damage, which are now the biggest challenges for human civilization. ‘ explained Fachruddin.
In the Eco-Islamic Boarding School program activities, there are 10 programs that pesantren can choose to meet the criteria of an environmentally-friendly pesantren, namely: 1) environmentally-based curriculum, 2) environmental Fiqh, 3) human resource development in the environmental sector, 4) land management for boarding schools, 5) water resources management, 6) healthy living, 7) management of waste, 8) management of energy resources, 9) transportation and mobility, and 10) biodiversity.
The Eco-Islamic Boarding School program is implemented with financial support from the John Templeton Foundation together with the National University and the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS) at Universitas Gadjah Mada.
As Deputy Project Coordinator for the Eco-Pesantren program, Dr. Dicky Sofjan of ICRS, said, “This project is very strategic and we are very happy to receive the support from the Templeton Foundation and others. It is also heartwarming to collaborate with the different government ministries, CSOs, and pesantren leaders from various regions of Indonesia. I hope that the concept and application of this eco-pesantren tracking, monitoring and assistantship program could be replicated in the wider Muslim world.”
