Enviro News Asia, Jakarta — Indonesia’s Environment Ministry and Environmental Control Agency (KLH/BPLH) is seeking support from religious communities, including Confucian organisations, for a proposed National Ecological Repentance Movement aimed at strengthening public responsibility for environmental protection.
Environment Minister and head of the Environmental Control Agency Moh Jumhur Hidayat met with leaders of the Supreme Council for the Confucian Religion in Indonesia (MATAKIN) in North Jakarta on Nov. 3, 2026, to discuss the initiative.
The meeting was attended by MATAKIN Supreme Council Chairman Budi Santoso Tanuwibowo and other organisational leaders. Jumhur said the movement was intended to bring together different elements of society to address environmental degradation caused by human activities.
He said environmental protection was closely connected to moral and spiritual values across religious traditions.
“Our meeting today is intended to discuss the plan for the National Ecological Repentance Movement and seek the support and blessing of religious leaders. In principle, all of us have made mistakes against the Earth and the environment, whether as individuals, organisations, government institutions or corporations. It is therefore appropriate for us to take collective steps towards ecological repentance,” Jumhur said.
The minister said the proposed movement would be inclusive, involving people regardless of age, education, ethnicity or religious background. KLH/BPLH is expected to coordinate the initiative, which is planned to be officially launched by President Prabowo Subianto.
“This initiative should become a shared movement. There should be no divisions among us because everyone has the same responsibility to protect the only Earth we have. The Environment Ministry will act as the coordinator, while the driving force will be all segments of society, including religious leaders and the wider MATAKIN community,” he said.
Jumhur added that the programme would use measurable and accountable performance indicators. These would include the volume of trees planted, reductions in waste pollution and improvements in river water clarity, with progress evaluated periodically over a defined period.
Confucian Values and Environmental Ethics
Budi Santoso welcomed the proposal and expressed MATAKIN’s readiness to support the national initiative. He said environmental conservation was consistent with core Confucian teachings, which regard protecting nature as an expression of moral responsibility and devotion.
“Destroying nature is equivalent to committing a serious moral violation. In Confucian teachings, failing to fulfil one’s responsibilities towards ancestors, parents, leaders, the country and the Earth itself represents a fundamental breach of ethics,” Budi said.
He explained that ecological ethics had long been reflected in everyday Confucian moral guidance. Examples include prohibitions against cutting down trees prematurely without replanting, using selective fishing and bird-catching methods to protect wildlife regeneration, and harming animals while they are sleeping or giving birth.
He added that cutting trees without reforestation was regarded as an act of filial disobedience.
“MATAKIN is ready to support and assist the proposed National Ecological Repentance Movement. Whatever form the programme takes, we are prepared to take part,” he said.
KLH/BPLH said continued dialogue between the government and religious leaders would help build broad public awareness and encourage collective action to protect the environment for future generations. (*)
