Review Article: 2021 Vol: 25 Issue: 1S
Dadang M. Nasser*, Universitas Padjadjaran
Nandang Alamsah Deliarnoor, Universitas Padjadjaran
Arry Bainus, Universitas Padjadjaran
Eva Tuckyta Sari Sujatna, Universitas Padjadjaran
Environmental Development, Local Wisdom, Sabilulungan, Local Community, Community Welfare
Bandung Regency is one of the areas of West Java Province that is experiencing environmental damage problems caused by bad behavior in disposing of garbage, flooding, and the expansion of critical land. To overcome this problem, the Regent of Bandung initiated a development program by applying the values of local wisdom, which are called the values and spirit of 'Sabilulungan' as the power of social energy to motivate the community to participate in the program. This research explains how the application of 'Sabilulungan' local wisdom values has succeeded in overcoming environmental problems as well as the welfare of the affected communities. The novelty of this research is not solely about the importance of implementing the value of local wisdom in preserving local culture in community harmony where the government does not have to bother making programs and spending large budgets in overcoming development problems, the application of local wisdom values in Bandung Regency is actually capable of giving birth to development innovations. which was born from the idea of the local community in empowering and solving environmental problems faced by the community itself, while improving the welfare of the community
Bandung Regency is one of the administrative areas of West Java, Indonesia which is also experiencing development problems, one of the development problems faced by Bandung Regency is the problem of environmental control which is still ineffective, including the problem of waste management, critical land upstream of the Citarum River, and river pollution due to factory waste that damages river ecosystems and the availability of clean water. Due to environmental issue, The Bandung Regency Government found that development problems were caused by the lack of character of citizens towards collectivity and a culture of togetherness. Therefore, the Regent of Bandung initiated the application of the values of local wisdom, by reviving the spirit of Sabilulungan to overcome these environmental problems.
The idea of implementing Sabilulungan's local wisdom values was inspired by Seamul Udong in South Korea, Bushido in Japan, and Ubuntu in South Africa, where the application of local wisdom shows efficacy when it is practiced in development. According to the Regent of Bandung, it is important to implement the spirit of Sabilulungan as an effort to preserve Sundanese cultural values which have recently been eroded by modern culture and global culture.
The concept of Sabilulungan contains the values and traditions of the Sundanese people that support each other to work together and there is an awareness of shared interests and responsibilities in development. According to the Regent of Bandung for the 2010-2021 period, development cannot be carried out by the government itself without the support of various stakeholders, both the community and business actors. Therefore, all parties must work together and synergize in the implementation of development by agreeing on a common concept, namely Sabilulungan. Through the internalization of Sabilulungan values, Bandung Regency residents are expected to be embedded in themselves, a sense of caring, empathy, as well as togetherness in overcoming development problems and creating community welfare. The spirit of Sabilulungan is the hallmark of development in Bandung Regency which is based on cultural values and local wisdom.
Since the values of Sabilulungan have been applied in development, there have been several flagship programs of the District Government that have resulted in positive and significant changes as solutions to development problems. All development programs in Bandung Regency are carried out in the spirit of Sabilulungan, but in this paper, researchers focus on analyzing the effectiveness of the application of local wisdom values (the spirit of Sabilulungan) which builds the character of the people of Bandung Regency in an effort to solve development problems, especially in environmental control.
The application of local wisdom in development is very interesting because it can provide solutions to overcome many problems faced by the community, especially in rural communities (Syaparudin, 2019). In Indonesia, the implementation of the value of local wisdom in development in several areas has been carried out, but its application has shown different results. In Riau Province, the value of local wisdom applied by the Talang Mamak indigenous people has succeeded in helping the government in developing citizenship skills (Verawati & Affandi, 2016). Likewise with the Huyula community in Gorontalo, the preservation of local wisdom has succeeded in supporting the strengthening of the nation's character (Yunus, 2014). In Banten Province, the local government accommodates the customary laws of the Bedouin community, which is the key to strengthening the implementation of spatial planning (Kristiyanto, 2017). In Bali, the preservation of local wisdom values is able to protect people from the negative effects of globalization and the vortex of modern ideology (Suwardani, 2015). Indigenous people in West Java, such as Naga (Dragon) Village in Tasikmalaya Regency and The Kasepuhan Ciptagelar Indigenous People (Sukabumi Regency), are still very strong in practicing the values of local wisdom and customary law so that they are able to protect their environment (Ikmaludin et al., 2018). The implementation of these local wisdom values is a tradition of the community from generation to generation that is allowed to grow by the local government. However, in Pati, Central Java, the value of local wisdom applied by the fishing village community actually clashes with the rigid logic of the government bureaucracy in interpreting normative regulations. which regulation, actually weakens local wisdom and slowly destroys the self-reliance and self-governing of the community (Tawakkal & Kistanto, 2017).
The application of local wisdom values in several regions in Indonesia has generally been initiated and preserved by the community from generation to generation. In contrast to the case of the people of Bandung Regency, the application of the local wisdom values of Sabilulungan was actually initiated by the local government, especially the Regent of Bandung. The people of Bandung Regency are Sundanese people who are generally very familiar with modernization, globalization and urban lifestyles, so that the values of Sundanese local wisdom have begun to erode and are almost extinct in the practice of people's daily lives. The fading of Sundanese local values is due to Sundanese culture itself undergoing processes, changes and cultural development both due to the creativity and dynamics of the creators and supporters of Sundanese culture itself as well as due to external influences (Miharja, 2015). This modernization divides the Sundanese ethnic into two major groups, namely religious Sundanese who have a tendency to shut themselves off from new influences coming from outside and adhere to life habits that have been passed down from generation to generation (such as the Kanekes and Badui communities in Banten Province, the Ciptagelar community in Sukabumi, and the Naga Village Community in Tasikmalaya district). The Sundanese people are an open society, so it is easy to mix cultures, including the influence of globalization of popular culture that has made a change in local culture in Sundanese society (Alam et al., 2019). Globalization and modernization have made it easier for people to live at risk of destroying social institutions and the waning of Sundanese traditionalism. Globalization and modernization have changed people's behavior, especially the behavior of the younger generation who are more individualistic, who only think about their own interests (Alam et al., 2019).
The modern lifestyle, the individualistic attitude of the Sundanese people, especially in Bandung Regency, are a weak point in solving local development problems. Therefore, the Regent of Bandung initiated the application of local wisdom values that are almost extinct in the community, namely the spirit of Sabilulungan. The application of Sabilulungan local wisdom values by the Bandung Regency government is carried out by making regulations and development programs that encourage the application of Sabilulungan values as a shared spirit that moves the community to synergize with the Bandung Regency government in dealing with development problems. However, the spirit of Sabilulungan, in fact, is not always easy to implement in order to support the acceleration of development in Bandung Regency. In practice, there are several obstacles faced by the Bandung Regency government in instilling this Sabilulungan spirit. The purpose of this research is to find out the empirical phenomena of how the application of Sabilulungan local wisdom values in the implementation of development in Bandung Regency, as well as to find out the dominant factors that support or hinder the success of development based on local wisdom.
Local Wisdom
Local wisdom is a form of wisdom that is part of the life of local communities. Local wisdom comes from a unique culture and has a long history of connection with nature, adapt to the local ecological system, and dynamic. Local uniqueness that comes from the culture of the local community that can be used as a basis for decision making at the local level in the fields of agriculture, health, food supply, education, natural resource management and other activities in the community (Mulyoutami et al., 2009).
Local wisdom can be interpreted as the values or behavior of local people in interacting with the environment in which they live wisely and carried out continuously with the traditions they follow (Berkes et al., 2000). Even though tradition is part of local wisdom held by the community, the values of local wisdom do not necessarily last continuously and last a long time, because it depends on the social order in the community, whether these values can be preserved from generation to generation. Social order is all forms of local knowledge in the sense of knowledge, belief, understanding or insight as well as customs or ethics that guide human behavior in life in an ecological community. All local forms of wisdom that are lived, practiced, taught and passed on from generation to generation, also shape human behavior patterns towards fellow humans, nature and Gods (Lisdiyono, 2017).
Globalization that brings the value of modernization has changed the behavior and values of a nation, where the values of local wisdom over time become untenable and traditions from generation to generation in society cannot be preserved. This happens because in general the future generations think that local wisdom is too binding, traditional, and out of date (Susanto et al., 2019). The impact of globalization causes all aspects of life to be affected, for example the economic system, culture and the human environment. This causes the erosion of local wisdom values in the practice of community life. The community has a tradition which is local wisdom and part of national identity, however, in the era of globalization, the local wisdom values seem no longer meaningful. The existence of local wisdom is increasingly fading in community settlements (Azis, 2017).
The preservation of local wisdom implies the importance of cultural identity in local communities and encourages the emergence of knowledge from appropriate local community constructive ideas that can be used in more efficient development, and can increase welfare in accordance with the needs of local communities (Pornpimon et al., 2014) Local wisdom refers to various cultural properties that grow and develop in a society that is known, trusted, and recognized as important elements capable of strengthening social cohesion in society. Local wisdom has the following significance and functions. 1) the identity marker of a communication; 2) an adhesive element for people, across religions and beliefs; 3) cultural elements that exist and live in society; 4) the togetherness of a community; 5) changing the mindset and reciprocal relationship between individuals and groups by placing them on the common ground/culture they have; 6) encourage the development of togetherness, appreciation as well as a joint mechanism to ward off various possibilities that diminish and even destroy communal solidarity which is believed and is realized to grow on the shared awareness of an integrated community (Abdullah, 2010). These functions realize the importance of local genius or local wisdom in dealing with various forms of conflict and problems that occur as a result of cultural change.
Local Wisdom Based Development
Local wisdom is the ideas or values, wise views of the local community, which are full of wisdom, and have good values that are embedded and followed by members of the community. Local wisdom is good values and has been believed by the community from generation to generation, so recognizing the elements of local wisdom is very important in the process of community empowerment in development. Development is often mistakenly viewed, assuming that development is material changes, the construction of luxurious buildings, and even a transformation from a traditional society to a modern society. The paradigm in the implementation of development often only focuses on the physical infrastructure sector, but neglects soft infrastructure development (reasoning and morals). Latif, quoting the opinion of Amartya Sen, who criticizes the development approach which emphasizes too much on aspects of economic growth (GDP), commodities, living standards, and the understanding of justice as limited as fairness. According to Sen, the measure that must be emphasized in development is the value and development of human capabilities. Sen defines capability as a person's ability to take valuable acts or achieve valuable states of being that combine opportunities and freedom to achieve what someone perceives reflectively as something of value. The capability approach sees development as assessed on its effect on the individual human being as the primary object of development. This value will shape the character of the community to participate in development (Latif, 2020)
Regarding the opinion on the importance of value in development, in the context of social life, development can be said to be good if development takes root and carefully considers local values that exist in society. Local wisdom is the basis for policy making at the local level in the fields of health, agriculture, education and natural resource management. Local wisdom is very closely related to society, because everything in society is influenced by the culture that is owned by the community itself. Therefore, development in society should be in line with existing local wisdom (Mawardi, 2012).
Local wisdom is the main social capital in development carried out through collective action and providing collective benefits without destroying the social order that is upheld in the social structure of the community itself and has a function as a guide, controller and signs to behave in various dimensions of life both when dealing with fellow human beings as well as with the surrounding natural environment. Local wisdom is the basis for policy making at the local level and community activities in the regions and villages, thus encouraging their participation in development in various fields (Bachrudin et al., 2018). The benefits of community participation in development are: (1) able to stimulate the emergence of community self-help which is an important support in development, (2) able to increase the motivation and skills of the community in building, and (3) the implementation of development is more in line with the aspirations and needs of the community, and (4) expanding the reach of development, although with limited funds, and (5) minimizing community dependence on the government (Asnudin, 2010).
This research was conducted using explanative qualitative research. According to (Babbie, 1986; Henninger, 2009) the use of qualitative methods in research can take advantage of the notion of flexibility and in-depth analysis because qualitative researchers tend to develop questions flexibly, in order to gain deeper insight into the beliefs, attitudes, or situations of the research subject. Although qualitative research does not involve rich data like quantitative research, the results of qualitative research which are presented in the form of words and pictures provide a more informative and in-depth analysis than just presenting numerical data (Shakouri, 2014)
The development goals of the Bandung Regency Government are outlined in the Regional Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMD 2016-2021, namely the development of Bandung Regency which is "Advanced, Independent and Competitive". This development goal is carried out through good governance and synergies in rural-based development, and is based on religious values, local wisdom, and environmental insight. The realization of these objectives is carried out by the Bandung Regency Government with an emphasis on rural development, this is because most of the Bandung Regency area is rural. In addition, rural communities in Bandung Regency have their Human Development Index (HDI) and the welfare conditions of their people still lagging behind. One of the Bandung Regency development programs discussed in this study is the Saber Village Program (Sabilulungan Bersih), which is a village development program in waste management and natural surroundings to support environmentally sound rural-based development. Efforts to empower rural communities have their own challenges, in addition to limited facilities and infrastructure, the level of community knowledge is still very low, therefore, so that rural-based community development and empowerment in Bandung Regency adopts environmental-friendly cultural values. The utilization of these cultural values is carried out through a process of internalization, revitalization, and the implementation of the spirit of Sabilulungan in Development.
Revitalization: Building Community Understanding for Sabilulungan as a basic value of development in Bandung Regency
As a spirit of development and empowerment of village communities, Sabilulungan is also applied to address environmental problems. It is the belief of the Regent of Bandung that environmental problems can be solved if the community wants to solve them together in a Sabilulungan way. So far, people hardly believe that environmental problems can be solved together, so that problem solving initiatives always focus on the formal structure (government) power approach and forget about the cultural approach. The government is too dominant to dictate to people to do various things, without considering the basic problems faced by society. In fact, people have their own wisdom in looking at their environment; they also have the greatness of innovation in solving these problems.
For that, what needs to be done is very simple, namely to encourage people to do Sabilulungan. First, encourage people to understand their problems, potentials and needs. The community is encouraged to recognize problems that interfere with community welfare. Second, if the community is aware of a disturbing problem, then they are encouraged to get used to finding alternative solutions to problems that are relatively easy to implement independently. Problem solving must be realistic based on the potential of the community's resources. Third, the relevant stakeholders, especially the government, must understand the problems of the local community and immediately cooperate in synergy with the community. If there are things that the community cannot solve, the relevant agencies can facilitate the community's needs to seek assistance from other stake holders. So the task of the government is to support, provide reinforcement, and find relationships so that problems are resolved and society can show their prowess in solving their own problems. A village that realizes its environmental potential and problems while managing its environment in a sustainable manner in accordance with environmental preservation principles such as conservation, utilization and environmental restoration. The principle is simple, expose people to their own problems, encourage a pattern of community understanding that "my problem, my job to solve it" is in accordance with their capacity. In this way, people will again have a sense and attitude of independence, without depending on government programs, and have a high power of innovation.
The Bandung Regency Government believes that environmental problems can actually be solved together with the community, by providing public awareness of the environmental problems they face. With good guidance, society can give birth to innovations in solving these problems. What the government needs to do, is quite simple, namely to encourage them to have intercourse. First, encourage people to recognize problems that interfere with the environment and their well-being, then understand the impact of environmental problems, their potential and needs. After that, encourage the community to solve their own problems independently, realistically, and relatively easily based on their potential and available resources. It is like the proverb of the Sundanese, "nu panjang ulah disambung, nu pondok ulah dipotong", which implies that in solving various problems, use what is available. Even though, the community tries to solve their own problems, the Bandung Regency Government does not remain silent, if there are things that the community cannot handle, related agencies intervene, support, strengthen, find relationships, and facilitate the needs of the community with other stakeholders in synergy. This is the essence of sabilulungan, including sarendeu, saigel, sabobot, sapihanean, the philosophy of the Sundanese people which shows cooperation in Sundanese society, rempug jukung sauyunan, rampag gawe babarengan which means mutual cooperation.
Even though it contains local wisdom values, socialization and education efforts for development programs, in practice, there is a slight ripple or fluctuation, when the village government expresses objections to implementing the development program because it feels that it is not the village government's responsibility but the duty of the district government. the village head was reluctant to be burdened with the implementation of these tasks and programs. The village feels that it has no interest in implementing an environmental development program, especially having to cut funds from the budget received by the Village Government. The village government and the community consider development to be the full responsibility of the district government. However, socialization and education are continuously carried out by the two agencies, including by the Regent of Bandung in order to achieve a common understanding that development is a shared responsibility. The values and spirit of Sabilulungan are continuously conveyed, and socialize that the objectives of the development program are none other than the interests of development and improvement of the welfare of the villagers.
According to the head of the Environmental Service (DLH), environmental issues are related to civilization and people's behavior. Therefore, in education and outreach efforts, it is conveyed that everyone can be a source of problems for the environment, but everyone can be a source of solutions when they are able to carry out their obligations. So far, the government has long taken over the obligations of citizens, even though it is the government's job to ensure that citizens are able to carry out their obligations. The government sometimes acts like a superman, collecting, transporting, and producing garbage, but in reality the problem and the environment is never finished, if people do not have the awareness to protect the environment and do not care that their actions are causing damage to the earth.
Understanding the value of Sabilulungan, is not only disseminated to the village community, but also must be inspired by district government officials and village officials. According to the Head of the Nagrog BPD (Village Representative Body), stated as follows:
The concept of Sabilulungan is the value of social capital which correlates to create innovation in the village. This concept is basically unity, equality of movement in development, or is interpreted by the community as 'sasarengan' attitudes and actions in doing everything, including regional development, mutual cooperation and mutual assistance. Think of it like a broom stick, or the human body which means uniting to complement each other to work together (Interview on 17 November 2019)
Based on the interview above, both the leadership of the village apparatus have the view that the values of Sabilulungan are the values instilled by the Regent in the implementation of development which have a broad meaning, as the values and spirit of mutual cooperation, togetherness, and harmonization in collaboration to achieve common goals overcoming environmental problems.
Implementation of Development in the field of Environmental Conservation Based on Local Wisdom with the Spirit of Sabilulungan
In overcoming environmental problems, the Bandung Regency Government initiated the Sabilulungan Bersih Village program or known as Saber Village, as a strengthening of the environmentally sound development program, namely waste management and the surrounding environment. Through Saber Village, the Bandung Regency Government provides financial assistance of 40 million/year as a stimulus fund given for 3 years. After that, the village government and the community continued the program mutually and independently. The village development stimulus funds were provided, with the aim of building the mentality and responsibility of the village government and the community to jointly carry out village development.
To overcome environmental problems, the Regent of Bandung set targets for DLH in the Sabilulungan Raksa Desa Program and the Saber Village Program, including reducing the area of critical land, overcoming water pollution in the Citarum River, and improving individual and household-based waste management. With regard to support for operational targets, the Regent, together with DLH and other regional officials, carried out a series of strategies as follows:
1. Prepare regulations on village development and the environment. The regulations that have been prepared include in the form of regional regulations (6 documents), regulations, decrees, and instructions from the district head
2. Encourage the existence of village regulations and action plans. During the Sabilulungan Raksa Desa and Desa Saber program, 198 village regulations on environmental management have been issued and 120 documents of regional action plans.
3. Increasing socialization and education to village governments and communities, through training, technical guidance, and village meetings.
The Saber Village Program is a program initiated by DLH to support the strengthening of village development with an environmental perspective. In the Saber Village program, there are several activities carried out, namely the Satapok Movement (Sabilulungan Planting Favorite Trees), LCO (Organic Smart Hole), RW Zero Waste, and Garbage Bank.
In fact, Village Development through the Saber Village Program is not easy to do. Environmental control, which is one of the development problems in Bandung Regency, is still considered difficult and heavy. In overcoming environmental problems, the government's efforts to transport and clean garbage are not enough, but it also requires citizen awareness to reduce and manage waste so that environmental destruction does not get worse. Education and outreach delivered to the community, especially the village government, are very important, so that Sabilulungan (mutual cooperation) can be realized in overcoming environmental problems.
At the initial launch, in 2017, the Bandung Regency Government selected 10 villages as a pilot project in implementing the Saber program. The implementation of the Saber Village program has shown extraordinary results. The community showed their creativity even beyond the expectations of the Bandung Regency Government. Each of these model villages shows their uniqueness according to their respective potentials. Some have created an ecotourism-based Saber Village by trying to take advantage of the river, by working together to clean, organize, decorate the river which was originally dirty to become a suitable place for residents to gather. The village is Margahurip Asih Village, Banjaran Subdistrict. In the future, it is hoped that the village can be developed into a tourist destination, both natural tourism and fish tourism. Another innovation was carried out by Nagrog Village, Cicalengka Subdistrict, Bandung Regency, which resulted in conservation-based innovations, including birth trees, namely that every time there is a birth, people who want to get a birth certificate service are required to plant two trees. In addition, people who are adults and are about to get married, are also obliged to plant their favorite trees in the yard of their house or in critical land if they do not have their own land. This program was later called the Sabilulungan Planting Favorite Tree Program (SATAPOK). This idea functions in addition to absorbing water, the land is also tightly bound by trees so that it is not prone to landslides when it rains. This program has fostered the desire of many people to plant their favorite trees. Each tree that is planted, can be given the name of the grower or his family, or the name of the organization, so that in the future we can know the contribution of each. If the tree grower does not have land or his house is far from the planting location, the Regency Government prepares 120 people from the tree-keeping community who live around the planting location and control one plot or 80 trees to care for it, then the people who plant the trees deposit money. 25 thousand rupiah per tree for maintenance costs as well as providing welfare to people who care for the trees. In this way, tree planting activities will be sustainable, no trees will die because someone cares for them. In an interview with Asep Kusumah, Head of the LH Service on November 17, 2019, stated that through Satapok, the Bandung Regency government does not need to spend a very large budget for reforestation and environmental preservation, because the implementation of these activities comes from community self-help. The values contained in the Satapok movement are culture-based conservation, worship and welfare. Communities together me-raksa (guard) the land, upstream of the river is safe, me-raksa (prevent) flooding.
The guidance that is carried out by DLH to support the implementation of the Saber Village Program is carried out in a more systematic and tiered manner. In fostering his subordinates, the things that the Head of the Environmental Service do, are first asking for recommendations from the sub-district head to propose a village that will implement the Saber Village Program. Then, the Department of LH and Camat conducted the socialization to the recommended villages. Subsequently, the camat and the village met with the facilitator who provided local assistance to the cadres. Furthermore, to provide guidance, the Department of LH carries out the following activities:
1. Providing technical guidance for the Saber Team/cadres for 3 days to identify problems, potentials and needs.
2. Each village conducts a riungan (joint deliberation) for eight times which is supervised by sub-district and regency apparatus.
3. Workshop on the results of village riungan in front of the sub-district head, assistant, and the head of the Department of the Environment, which is followed up by making village regulations.
4. Assistance by the facilitator 5 times to explore village innovations.
5. Local assistance by facilitators to cadres. After three years of mentoring, the village will be weaned (released to implement the Saber program independently without assistance and assistance from the district government)
6. During the weaning period, the Bandung Regency Government monitors and evaluates village performance in the implementation of the Saber Village Program.
Training, technical guidance, workshops and mentoring are carried out as one of the strategies of the Bandung Regency Government (in this case the Village Community Empowerment Service/DPMDesa and DLH) to increase the capacity of human resources, so that they are ready to support the successful implementation of development programs and community empowerment in villages. All of these activities are carried out as an effort to foster development actors in the village, according to the Head of the LH Office, guidance to village officials and communities is carried out so that they have the responsibility to participate in development. Despite the fact, there were village heads who were initially resistant and questioned why the village was charged with implementing the official program. But the Head of DLH emphasized to the village government that in development there is no term village program or official program. Both the village and the agency must work together, sabilulungan, in carrying out development and realizing the vision and mission of the Bandung Regent. Villages also have the same responsibility for development. The district government in this case is only a facilitator, because in fact, in the village everything already exists, smart people, pious people, rich people already exist, local wisdom has also grown, the government's task is just to polish, so that the gold (read: potential) comes out .
The problem of environmental control is also a concern of the regent so that it is included in the village development program. This is due to the empirical fact that land in Bandung Regency is increasingly critical due to massive land tenure, environmental pollution due to domestic waste, livestock, agriculture, and industry, so that it has the potential for natural damage and disasters that harm the community. Environmental damage is caused by changes in the lifestyle of people who are 'urban' (following the lifestyle of big cities) but are not accompanied by environmentally friendly behavior and environmental pollution by industries that only focus on gaining profit and neglecting environmental preservation. The existence of these environmental problems, the Regent of Bandung gave attention and made environmental issues into the development program. According to the Regent of Bandung 2011-2021, talking about environmental issues is actually talking about civilization and human behavior. Therefore, handling environmental problems must be carried out continuously, involving many stakeholders, and based on an ecosystem approach. The potential for community participation is also important in supporting the success of environmental management with an “individual-basic” approach.
The Satapok movement, which was originally carried out for environmental conservation in the village, has been expanded into an activity of handling critical land based on religious values and welfare, by planting more trees to deal with critical land problems around the Citarum River area. The Bandung Regent's obsession is to make forests or natural, and restore forest functions from potential crises in the future. Satapok activities are carried out for handling this critical land, the Bandung Regency Government collaborates with various parties/institutions and the community.
Data from the Ministry of Forestry shows that in Bandung Regency, there are critical lands covering an area of 59,969.39 hectares. In fact, the Bandung Regency Government has tried to restore critical land in 2011 and 2012. However, these efforts were only able to overcome 22,455 hectares of critical land, leaving 37,513 hectares of critical land remaining in the form of empty land. This critical land is prone to be planted by the community into plantation and horticultural land, if left unchecked, of course it will have a bigger negative impact on the community. Therefore, this critical land needs to be reforested through the Sabilulungan movement to plant trees in critical land, which is called the Leuweung Sabilulungan Program.
In order for the Leuweung Sabilulungan Program to be carried out well, the Bandung Regency Government involves all stakeholders, ranging from central government agencies, provinces, State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN), Village-Owned Enterprises (BUMD), foundations, private entrepreneurs, youth organizations and other communities organizations. Part of the critical land that was made into Leuweung Sabilulungan belongs to the community, which has been left barren. If the barren land continues, it can cause disaster. Therefore, the steps taken by the Bandung Regency Government are to buy this critical land for reforestation.
To initiate the implementation of the Leuweung Sabilulungan Program, the Regent of Bandung purchased 1 hectare of land to be donated. Then, the regent made a program to purchase one leuweung package of 50 thousand rupiah per package, which contained one tree trunk and one square meter of land. The regent also invited officials in the central government from Bandung Regency, entrepreneurs, and these businesses managed to collect waqf funds worth Rp1,502,650,000 plus tree seed waqf totaling 29,945 stems. Until now, the Leuweung Sabilulungan Program is still ongoing, the aim is not only to overcome critical land, but also to maintain the availability of water sources for the community, and to accelerate the revitalization of the Citarum watershed, especially in the North Bandung area. The Regent also encouraged the launching of the Sabilulungan Desa Forest in 2019, which is a reforestation activity on critical land in the village (Nasser, 2020). This activity began with mapping by the sub-district government together with the military sub-district command (Koramil), the Sector Police (Polsek), and village officials. The Sabilulungan Village Forest activity is a continuation of the Sabilulungan Planting Favorite Tree (Satapok) movement, and is carried out in conjunction with the declaration of the Moon Planting Tree Movement during the rainy season.
The activity of Leuweung Sabilulungan is an effort to reforest and improve the welfare of the community (leuweung hejo Rakyat ngejo with Satapok). To the community, the government provides seeds or small tree shoots to be planted and cared for by the community. If the tree grows well, the government will grant tree certificates to the planting community. If the tree is successful in planting even trees for 1 year, the planter will receive cash of 100 thousand from Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) funds. The concept of "leuweung hejo Rakyat ngejo" encourages the public and the private sector to have a sense of social responsibility. Another advantage, from the certificate obtained, can be used by the community as collateral to apply for credit to the bank.
The leuweung Sabilulungan activity succeeded in getting people from various circles to plant more than 6000 tree seedlings planted by 3000 people in the Satapok program along the upper reaches of the Citarum river, precisely on plots 73 and 18 in the Perhutani area, Kertasari District. The Regent called on the community, especially the tenuous peasants, that what is planted for their livelihoods must pay attention to environmental sustainability and the safety of other residents. Farmers in the upper reaches of the Citarum river should care for the people who live in the foothills and urban residents. Be wise in planting, do not plant vegetables at a slope of 30 degrees anymore, but must be planted with tree crops such as fruit and planting belt-mountains to prevent landslides. The problem in the upstream area of Citarum, is when farmers to fulfill their welfare, they do not need to plant trees, but plant vegetables which can make money faster. So the trees are uprooted by many farmers for horticultural crops. The Bandung Regency Government is thinking about how to conserve land upstream of the Citarum River while still making local farmers prosperous, and farmers do not destroy other sources of life. Through the spirit of Sabilulungan and the Satapok movement, according to the Head of LH, Asep Kusumah in his interview on November 20, 2019, the Bandung Regency Government invited the downstream community to plant trees as well as entrust shodaqoh to maintain trees, so that the trees would not die. People who plant infaq trees deposit 25 thousand rupiah per tree for maintenance costs while providing welfare to the people who care for the trees. The government's task in the Leuweung Sabilulungan Program through the satapok movement is not actually to multiply trees, but to increase the number of people planting trees. In the program there is shodaqoh maintenance, so if people plant trees around the Citarum area (Cisanti village), and the people who plant these are not local villagers, the government will prepare tree caretakers from local residents. So the people who plant trees give shodaqoh tree maintenance to the designated local residents (one tree, 25 thousand shodaqoh maintenance). As a result, when the public and the private sector planted up to 6,000 trees, the local people received alms for maintenance of up to 150 million rupiah. This is an ecosystem, people in the downstream and upstream of the river both plant, they both care.
Collaboration in the Leuweung Sabilulungan program involving the government-private-community, the benefits are very pronounced in handling environmental problems and handling critical land. The Bandung Regency Government has found it difficult so far, because handling critical land and river pollution in the Citarum area (both in the upstream to downstream areas) is sometimes difficult to do because it is related to the authority of other institutions, including the West Java Provincial Forestry Service, the Center for Conservation of Natural Resources (BBKSDA) West Java Province, West Java Province Water Resources Management Service (PSDA), Government Owned Enterprises/BUMN (Perhutani, PTPN VIII, Jasa Tirta Public Company, and private institutions, as the rulers of land in the According to the book source of the Land and Forest Rehabilitation Management Plan (RP-RHL) 2015-2020, in Bandung Regency there are 24,542.5 Ha of critical land. Land tenure is not accompanied by conservation, so that it can have an impact on ecological losses that are detrimental to the community. Although in handling environmental problems, such as river water pollution and the expansion of critical lands, they often face the authority of other institutions, the strategy of the Bandung Regency Government is carried out by embracing various networks of authorized institutions and inviting collaboration with the spirit of Sabilulungan.
All environmental conservation and village development programs are carried out by applying the Sundanese cultural values 'Sabilulungan'. The internalization of the values and spirit of sabilulungan continues to be internalized by the Bandung Regency Government so that the community has a character of togetherness and hard work and plays a role in protecting the environment, and calls on the community that environmental problems are common problems that must be resolved simultaneously.
There are three factors that encourage the application of Sabilulungan local wisdom values in the implementation of environmental development, namely regulations that encourage the application of local wisdom values, namely making Sabilulungan as the basic value of development. Second, leadership that is able to explain the program to the village government, the community, other institutions (higher government institutions and the private sector), to coordinate and control program implementation. The application of local wisdom values (the spirit of Sabilulungan) between the government-community-private sector, as well as other government institutions has succeeded in breaking down the walls of arrogance of authority in government institutions and strengthening collaboration in development.
Based on the activities carried out, the implementation of development based on local wisdom, especially in the field of village development, community empowerment, and environmental preservation by the Bandung Regency Government has succeeded in encouraging innovative activities that have economic value, as well as benefit the wider community. Environmental preservation efforts in addition to providing environmental health, have also provided benefits to increase the income and welfare of community members.