“A Rape of the Earth”

This study discusses ethnographic studies in communities in the region of Gunung Kawi Kabupaten Malang. The focus of attention of an ethnographic description is the culture with a distinctive pattern, than an ethnographic study is a description of “the ethnic culture”. Question about the element of universal culture is the focus of this study, namely; how the location, the natural environment and demographics, the origin and history, language, technology systems, economic systems, social organization, knowledge systems, art and religion systems. Ethnographic research is to describe it culture, this research seeks to study the culture event that present a live view of the subjects as an object of study. This study is related to how the subject of thinking, living, and be having. The results of this study found that for art and religion system there are some myths that developed in the community related to pilgrimage Gunung Kawi, multiculture messages between Javanese and Chinese culture, syncretism between customs or traditions with religion and for economic system there are religious tourism commodification.<br /><strong>Keywords</strong>: Etnography, Community

I am grateful for the financial contributions provided by the Canadian Indigenous of Health Research (CIHR), Institute of Indigenous Peoples Health and Gender and Health, with First Nations Health Authority, the Canadian Nurses Foundation, and the University of Victoria.

Sustainability issues are now a global concern. However, knowing the root causes of problems and the target is not the only factor that constantly motivates change for the better (Wamsle & Osberg, 2022) as such change also requires encouragement from actors, including individuals, organizations, and communities. Therefore, the human aspect is crucial for the successful achievement of sustainability (Hariram et al., 2023). In other words, questions on sustainability are not just about "what should be done?" and also on “how to get people to do it?” and “why are currently available interventions not yet fully utilized?” Such is required reflecting the findings of a body of previous research which accentuates that our main struggle in the global era we already in, is the discrepancy between awareness and action, between policy and practice, between scientific knowledge and behavior (Hariram et al., 2023; Kirchner-Krath et al., 2024). Global sustainability efforts often promoted into green technologies and environmental policies. It has shown that even well-designed interventions, the result not always in meaningful change. In several countries, some initiatives have fallen short because they overlook the psychological and socio-cultural factors that shape individual behavior and collective decision-making (de Costa et al., 2025). It also requires a deep understanding of community perspectives as expressed through local social norms and everyday practices. As a result, the presence of infrastructure or the financial support mechanism alone is not enough to drive meaningful change (Kinzig et al., 2013). Local context is another critical factor that shape adoption behavior and the extent to which proposed solutions are accepted and supported (Carmen et al., 2024; Syamsiyah et al., 2025). In this context, a more comprehensive understanding of environmental science is required. With the philosophy of environmental science, humans constitute is one of the three core dimensions, together with environmental and economic factors, and any effective approach that must balance to these elements. However, when modern environmental science, characterized by data analyses and methodologies is applied in practice, it often meets tensions with deeply rooted local and traditional knowledge systems that have shaped people’s perceptions and behaviors for generations (Ijatuyi et al., 2025). A clear example can be found in Bali, where the Subak irrigation system and the Danu Kerthi philosophy have guided water management for centuries. These practices represent living environmental systems rather than merely cultural heritage to be preserved. When traditional approaches are used into environmental science, conservation efforts are often more effective, as they are grounded in community acceptance and sustained through active local participation (Morse, 2025). This integration can serve as a recognition that centuries-old knowledge systems have legitimacy and effectiveness that must be combined with scientific monitoring and formal governance to achieve optimal conservation outcomes. Beyond the local context, the organizational context, both in the public and private sectors, can also act as a transformative agent in driving individual practices (Borrás et al., 2024; Keil et al., 2025). Green human resource management (GHRM) integrates environmental and individual lifecycle goals within an organization. This approach demonstrates how integrating understandings of desires can influence individual behaviour and drive organizational innovation that contributes to sustainability (Ahmad et al., 2025; Borrás et al., 2024; Keil et al., 2025; Shoaib et al., 2025). This 15th issue of the Journal of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development focuses on an often overlooked yet fundamental dimension of sustainability: the ways in which human behavior, cultural and spiritual value systems, local institutional contexts, and the integration of traditional knowledge with modern science collectively shape sustainable landscapes. Unlike previous editions that highlight biophysical and techno-ecological aspects, this issue shifts attention into questions of agency, motivation, beliefs, norms, and meaningful systems that highlight environmental decisions and actions. This perspective shows the critical need for interdisciplinary approaches to explaining contemporary sustainability challenges. Environmental issues today extend beyond ecological degradation to include human behavior and the capacity of diverse knowledge systems, scientific, local, and policy-based, to interact and function cohesively. Consequently, behavioral transformation supported by the integration of multiple knowledge systems represents a fundamental pathway toward effective, adaptive, and long-term sustainability action. The articles in this issue explore diverse geographic and sectoral contexts, ranging from the application of green transportation technologies, air management in urban-industrial versus traditional-tourism contexts, climate adaptation in agricultural communities, global natural resource management (GHRM) practices in the tourism sector, to indigenous wisdom-based lake conservation and sustainable food systems.

Stability and change within indigenous land use in the Ecuadorian Amazon

Bambara groundnut ( Vigna subterranea) is so important in most of Africa, and potentially so in other tropical regions, that improvement of its production — especially on a commercial scale — and of its germplasm both deserve renewed and intensive scientific study. Yet, compared with other legumes (such as groundnuts, beans and cowpeas), bambara groundnut has received almost no research or extension attention, although in Ghana and other parts of Africa, it has a higher market value (on a per unit weight basis) than these other legumes. Improving indigenous farm management systems and methods that have resulted from age-old experience and tradition will be difficult for local farmers if they are completely entrenched in their habits. Thus, a survey was conducted to identify and document the traditional farm management practices and key considerations used in bambara groundnut production, along with indigenous knowledge systems linked to the conservation of bambara groundnut germplasm. The study was conducted in the Upper West region of Ghana, which is an area with considerable bambara groundnut genetic diversity. Valuable information on its production and genetic resources exists within the indigenous knowledge systems studied, and ranges from economic and agronomic criteria for peasant farmer selection of particular varieties and traditional uses of the crop, to strategies for the management and conservation of locally adapted varieties, pest and disease management, and environmental and ecological monitoring systems. Research and extension requirements for improving crop production were identified. In addition, germplasm was collected and characterized for conservation.

Natural resource management issues in developing countries are increasingly mimicking western theories and the contribution of indigenous cultures and institutions are often overlooked. This research examines the role traditional belief systems and indigenous knowledge and practices have played in the management and conservation of natural environmental resources in the Upper East Region of Ghana. Some cultural practices and belief systems like sacrifices, worship, the Tindaanaship organization and the Tingaane civilization and how the Tindaanas (chief priest) communicates through the Tingaane (shrines and sacred groves) to the ancestral spirits or gods, how the people are punished if the gods are provoked were examined. The study revealed that the significant attribute of the belief systems that rest on the ascription of supernatural powers to some parts of the environment as the home of the gods has significantly helped to conserve the natural environment. The protection of these homes/areas from utilization, exploitation and use explicitly encourages conservation of environmental resources. Forbidden areas and totemic items/objects associated with worship immensely promoted conservation of resources. Over the years, traditional belief systems, practices and indigenous knowledge strategies that conserve the natural resources have been eroded or corroded by western cultural infiltration and religion. The study recommends a re-visitation of the traditional belief systems and cultural practices that promote the management, preservation and conservation of natural resources for the sustainable development of the Upper East Region and the nation at large.

Earth’s life-supporting ecosystems are integral to human and planetary health. Ecosystem services connect ecosystem functions to human wellbeing. The complex, multifaceted socio-ecological challenges of ecosystem decline necessitate a transdisciplinary approach, including the active and meaningful engagement and participation of local communities. Communities uniquely possess expert local knowledge, which, when integrated into policy development and community planning, has the potential to enhance and sustain ecosystem benefits for health and wellbeing. Community-informed mapping tools provide an opportunity for integrating science, policy, and public participation in data collection. However, there is a dearth of community-informed mapping tools demonstrating the interconnection of the ecological and social determinants of health at a place-based level. This paper presents a study that employs a community-based participatory research approach to mapping local knowledge systems on EcoHealth. The study seeks to develop a community mapping tool for shared dialogue and decision-making on EcoHealth between local communities and policymakers. The participatory research methods used to explore community awareness and knowledge regarding ecosystem services, health, and sustainability in the local area are described. The process of co-producing a Community EcoHealth Toolkit, based on the integration of different knowledge systems into local policy and planning, is discussed.

In its search for pathways towards a more sustainable management of natural resources, development oriented research increasingly faces the challenge to develop new concepts and tools based on transdisciplinarity. Transdisciplinarity can, in terms of an idealized goal, be defined as a research approach that identifies and solves problems not only independently of disciplinary boundaries, but also including the knowledge and perceptions of non-scientific actors in a participatory process. In Mozambique, the Centre for Development and Environment (Berne, Switzerland), in partnership with Impacto and Helvetas (Maputo, Mozambique), has elaborated a new transdisciplinary tool to identify indigenous plants with a potential for commercialization. The tool combines methods from applied ethnobotany with participatory research in a social learning process. This approach was devised to support a development project aimed at creating alternative sources of income for rural communities of Matutuíne district, Southern Mozambique, while reducing the pressure on the natural environment. The methodology, which has been applied and tested, is innovative in that it combines important data collection through participatory research with a social learning process involving both local and external actors. This mutual learning process provides a space for complementary forms of knowledge to meet, eventually leading to the adoption of an integrated approach to natural resource management with an understanding of its ecological, socio-economic and cultural aspects; local stakeholders are included in the identification of potentials for sustainable development. Sustainable development itself, as a normative concept, can only be defined through social learning and consensus building between the local and external stakeholders.

World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Russia has monitored several large-scale hydrocarbon extraction and transportation projects on the Russian shelf, revealing the chaotic nature of this large-scale industrial activity. An analysis of the early stages of project implementation has shown that, contrary to the claims of project designers, the projects are starting to have diverse, tangible, and often negative impacts on the natural and human environments. Risks can be grouped as follows: the loss of or damage to unique natural and cultural phenomena, major accidents, and indirect and cumulative effects on the environment or human communities. The author argues that completion of a strategic environmental assessment (SEA) before these projects began may have helped to significantly reduce these risks, and considers possibilities for institutional development of SEA in Russia, based on trans-sectoral partnership.

Organisms and their natural environments are inherently connected and interdependent, with humans relying extensively on natural resources to meet daily needs and sustain life. Among them, indigenous communities maintain a distinctive relationship with their surroundings, guided by traditional ecological knowledge passed down orally from generation to generation. This body of knowledge, known as local wisdom, is deeply embedded within the natural, social, and cultural contexts of each community and plays a vital role in ensuring their long-term survival and well-being. The present study aims to examine the current socio-cultural conditions of customary law communities in three indigenous villages of Jayapura City—Kayu Batu, Kayo Pulau, and Skouw Yambe. Specifically, it seeks to identify the types of local wisdom practiced within these communities and to assess the efforts undertaken to preserve such traditions. A qualitative research approach was adopted, employing multiple data collection techniques, including direct observation, in-depth interviews with community leaders and members, and literature review of related studies and historical accounts. The findings indicate that, despite increasing pressures from modernization, urban expansion, and external cultural influences, these communities continue to implement local wisdom in managing and protecting their natural environment and resources. This includes sustainable harvesting practices, customary rules for resource allocation, seasonal restrictions to allow ecosystem regeneration, and culturally embedded conservation rituals. The endurance of these practices is supported by the functioning of customary institutions, strong kinship ties, community protocols, and collective decision-making mechanisms that integrate environmental considerations. In conclusion, the study demonstrates that the environmental stewardship, resource management practices, and cultural identity of these three customary communities remain actively upheld. This resilience underscores the critical importance of safeguarding indigenous knowledge systems as a foundation for environmental sustainability and cultural preservation in the face of contemporary socio-economic change.

Environmental history investigates the interactions between humans and the natural environment over a specific period, exploring how these relationships have shaped ecological systems and human societies. The relationship between nature and humanity is analogous to a tapestry woven thread by thread, emphasising the importance of the depth of the connection between the two. The scholarly neglect of environmental history in the history Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) is increasingly difficult to justify and understand in the face of global land, ecological and climate crises. The history curriculum commits itself to ensuring environmental justice. At the same time, it excludes history which is necessary for achieving this environmental justice, and there are also pressing environmental issues that require immediate attention. This conceptual paper employs a critical inquiry approach to examine the absence of environmental history in the history CAPS and argues for its inclusion in this curriculum. The paper aims to critically interrogate the epistemic exclusions within the CAPS history curriculum and proposes integrating environmental history as a pathway to curricular justice. Using the decolonial and rhizomatic approaches as theoretical frameworks, the argument is developed through conceptual analysis of curriculum policy documents and the broader historical context of epistemic exclusion in the Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous (VUCA) world. Environmental history offers learners critical tools to understand the intersection of humans and nature, from colonial land dispossession to contemporary environmental issues. Therefore, this paper argues for including environmental history to promote epistemic, social and environmental justice. Its inclusion will equip learners to critically reflect on the evolving relationship between human societies and the natural environment, fostering environmental consciousness and contextual historical understanding. This would help learners critically engage with Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) and draw insights to address environmental issues.

This thesis contrasts the influence of the culture-linked prioritisation of pairings of guilt and innocence, shame and honour, and fear and power. In this case study, this influence was explored with reference to the decision making of leaders in education and other fields in two different sub-cultures located in Bolivia, South America. The research involved a qualitative study of data from interviews with forty two leaders from a Bolivian city and from rural villages in order to discover worldview and cultural factors that influence the prioritisation of avoidance-pursuit pairs that may affect the ethical decision making of leaders in different sub-cultures. The distinctive sub-cultures are an Hispanic sub-culture in the city and a primarily Quechua sub-culture in the villages. The affective domain pairs were identified in the literature from work by sociologists, anthropologies and missiologists. In this research the term avoidance-pursuit pair is used and is indicative of the human tendency to avoid the first components (guilt, shame and fear) and pursue the second (justice/innocence, honour and power). The literature suggested that these pairs are ranked differently in contrasting cultures and that this influences the decisions and actions of individuals. This research also investigated worldview and cultural factors that may result in the prioritisation of the avoidance-pursuit pairs. In order to answer the research question the literature referring to the avoidance-pursuit pairs, leadership, ethical decision making, values and worldview is discussed. In addition, reference is made to the literature pertaining to cross-cultural studies and in particular to shame-honour, or face cultures, and Andean animistic cultures and worldviews. The data from the interviews with participants found that across each cultural group there are differences between the prioritisations of the pairs. Within the Hispanic culture of the city, the research participants placed a higher priority on shame and honour whereas in the village communities the priority was on fear and power and these prioritisations influenced the decisions and actions of the leaders. In general terms the findings support the theory in the literature. In the data there were also several linked factors such as issues of trust, the values context of the cultures and the relational structures of their communities. Relationships were found to be a key factor in understanding the influences on the decision making processes and the prioritisation of the avoidance-pursuit pairs. These relationships included interpersonal relationships in the collectivist, Hispanic, culture and strongly influenced perceptions of shame and honour. In the culture of the villages fear and power were linked to the relationships individuals had with the supernatural and the natural environment. The relationship individuals may have with lore, or laws, was found also to be important in terms of perceptions of guilt or innocence.

This paper compares and contrasts the areas of green criminology and Indigenous rights by relating to how the law can be used to address environmental crime in Indigenous lands. With the help of a doctrinal and qualitative approach, the paper relies on the analysis of case law, legislation, and commentary to determine the shortcomings of environmental legal protection of Indigenous peoples. It analyses sovereignty conflicts, Indigeneity with particular attention given to customary law, epistemic struggle, as well as the knowledge system under circumstances associated with conditions relating to environments. The paper illuminates the way the colonial legal systems persistently disadvantage the Indigenous environmental governance, as well as a consideration of how environmental movements, tribunal theatre, eco-cinema, and Indigenous-led research are shaping up to pursue justice and change. The comparative examination has shown that although there are jurisdictions that have achieved more in integrating Indigenous voices (through co-management arrangements or the legalisation of natural persons), there are still underlying systemic obstacles. The paper ends with a plea for legal amendments to acknowledge the Indigenous customary law, to have the systems of environmental guardianships in place, as well as a change in the methods of justice (based on the issues of restorative justice with a focus on Indigenous values being observed). This article contributes to the brand-new green criminology since it introduces the concept of an anti-colonial legal practice that includes Indigenous sovereignty and nature protection.

In Canaima National Park (CNP), Venezuela, a protected area inhabited by the Pemon people, socio-cultural and demographic changes have contributed to the apparent unsustainable use of fire, leading to forest and habitat loss. This over-use of fire, together with increased forest vulnerability to fire as a result of global climate change, could put both ecosystems and human well-being at risk. The conflict over fire use derives from the fact that whereas the Pemon depend for their livelihood on the use of fire for shifting cultivation and hunting, the policy of the CNP government agencies is fire exclusion (although this is not effectively enforced). Nevertheless, recent ecological studies have revealed that the creation of a mosaic of patches with different fire histories could be used to create firebreaks that reduce the risk of the wildfires that threaten the vulnerable and diverse savanna-forest transition areas. This technique imitates the traditional cooperative savanna burning strategies of the Pemon. By linking research on knowledge systems with management policies, the impasse over fire in the CNP might be avoided.

In this paper, we aim to contribute to ongoing work to uncover the ways in which settler colonialism is entrenched and reified in educational environments and explore lessons learned from an urban Indigenous land-based education project. In this project, we worked to re-center our perceptual habits in Indigenous cosmologies, or land-based perspectives, and came to see land re-becoming itself. Through this recentering, we unearthed some ways in which settler colonialism quietly operates in teaching and learning environments and implicitly and explicitly undermines Indigenous agency and futurity by maintaining and reifying core dimensions of settler colonial relations to land. We describe examples in which teachers and community members explicitly re-engaged land-based perspectives in the design and implementation of a land-based environmental science education that enabled epistemological and ontological centering that significantly impacted learning, agency, and resilience for urban Indigenous youth and families. In this paper, we explore the significance of naming and the ways in which knowledge systems are mobilized in teaching and learning environments in the service of settler futurity. However, we suggest working through these layers of teaching and learning by engaging in land-based pedagogies is necessary to extend and transform the possibilities and impacts of environmental education.