The environmental crisis increasingly threatening the sustainability of human life cannot be separated from the cultural crisis that has transformed how humans view and treat nature. This idea emerged during the 2nd Hybrid National Seminar Series titled "From a Culture of Adaptation and Conservation to a Culture of Exploitation and Commercialization," organized through a collaboration between the Cultural Commission of the Indonesian Academy of Sciences (AIPI), the Agency for Pancasila Ideology Development (BPIP), and UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta, on Thursday (11/6/2026) at the Medical Faculty Theater, 4th Floor.

The seminar featured four speakers from various disciplines who explored the connections between culture, environment, public policy, indigenous communities, and religious values in confronting the global ecological crisis.

AIPI Cultural Commission member Prof. Yunita Triwardani Winarto opened the discussion with a presentation titled "Cultural Crisis in the Anthropocene Era: Can We Survive Amid Landscape Change, Modernization, and Climate Change." She argued that culture fundamentally grows out of a harmonious relationship between humans and nature within their collective living spaces. However, various policies and practices of natural resource control rooted in colonial legacies have shifted this relationship into an exploitative one.

She highlighted how landscape change, uncontrolled modernization, and climate change have threatened the sustainability of local cultures across the Nusantara. In her view, the current ecological crisis impacts not only the environment but also erodes the identity, knowledge, and cultural practices of communities that have long coexisted with nature.

This perspective was reinforced by Dr. Herry Yogaswara, Head of BRIN's Research Organization for Archaeology, Language, and Literature, who addressed the theme "The Political Economy of Natural Resources and Local Culture." He raised three fundamental questions: how laws, markets, and social legitimacy work to create unequal access to resources; how such inequality transforms local culture; and what cultural pathways could be pursued to address it.

According to Herry, natural resource management that disregards local cultural perspectives often results in both environmental destruction and the erosion of cultural heritage. Development, he argued, needs to shift from a purely growth-driven orientation toward a sustainability-driven approach, integrating ecological risks and the interests of indigenous communities into public policy.

Meanwhile, Emilianus Ola Kleden, Executive Director of the Yayasan Masyarakat Kehutanan Lestari (YMKL), emphasized the crucial role of civil society in advocacy and the protection of indigenous territories. In his presentation, "The Role of Civil Society in Advocacy and Protection of Indigenous Territories," he stressed that civil society movements need to be supported by strong academic research to gain legitimacy in influencing policy.

Emilianus also critiqued the use of terms such as "culture of exploitation" or "culture of corruption," which he said reflect a crisis of values and a cultural crisis. He noted that language is not merely a tool of communication but a mirror of a nation's civilizational condition. For this reason, collaboration between academics and civil society organizations is essential to strengthen efforts to protect indigenous communities and the environment.

From a religious perspective, Dr. Budhy Munawar-Rachman, a lecturer at the Driyarkara School of Philosophy, presented on "Ecotheology and the Values of Environmental Preservation." He explained that ecotheology is a field of study that connects religious teachings with environmental ethics to drive concrete action in safeguarding the earth.

According to Budhy, one root cause of today's environmental problems is the loss of awareness that nature is sacred and deserving of respect. Nature is now more often viewed purely as a resource to be exploited. He therefore called for a shift away from anthropocentrism, which places humans at the center of all things, toward biocentrism, which values all life as part of a single ecosystem.

He emphasized that environmental issues are no longer merely technical or scientific matters, but moral and civilizational ones. Religious communities, he said, have a strategic role to play in building ecological awareness through education, culture, and religious practices oriented toward environmental preservation.

Moderated by Dr. Arifah Khusnuryani, M.Si., the seminar arrived at one central conclusion: the environmental crisis cannot be resolved through technological and economic policy approaches alone. What is needed is cultural transformation, the strengthening of indigenous peoples' rights, and the revitalization of spiritual values and ecological ethics, so that humanity can once again build a harmonious relationship with nature as our shared home. (humassk)