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Recibido: 2024-08-09 Aceptado: 2024-09-14
Página 195
From human-centered to ecofeminist environmental policies:
harnessing pancasila for global sustainability solutions
Natalis, Aga
1
Orcid: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7077-9169
Purwanti, Ani
2
Orcid: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9164-1679
Wijaningsih, Dyah
3
Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0976-6227
Susila Wibawa, Kadek Cahya
4
Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5468-8072
Colectivo de Investigación
Correo: aganataliss@lecturer.undip.ac.id
Diponegoro University, Semarang City. Indonesia
Abstract
This paper examines the move from anthropocentric to ecofeminist viewpoints in
environmental policy and how this shift might be incorporated into a Pancasila-
based solution to global environmental concerns. Anthropocentrism is the view
that humans are the most powerful and valuable beings on the planet and that the
natural world exists primarily for human benefit. This perspective has long
dominated environmental policy, with laws and practices centred on exploiting
natural resources for human consumption and economic gain. Ecofeminism, on
the other hand, is a viewpoint that acknowledges the interdependence of all living
things and the significance of safeguarding the environment for all life, not just
human life. This viewpoint emphasises the significance of appreciating and
safeguarding the natural world and acknowledging human actions’ impact on the
environment. The paper suggests that a transition from anthropocentric to
ecofeminist approaches in environmental policy is vital to meet the current global
environmental concerns. Incorporating a Pancasila-based strategy, which is the
philosophical underpinning of the Indonesian state and stresses the importance of
1
PhD in Law. Researcher at the Faculty of Law, Diponegoro University, Semarang, Indonesia.
2
PhD in Law. Researcher at the Faculty of Law, Diponegoro University, Semarang, Indonesia.
3
PhD in Law. Researcher at the Faculty of Law, Diponegoro University, Semarang, Indonesia.
4
PhD in Law. Researcher at the Faculty of Law, Diponegoro University, Semarang, Indonesia.
Sección: Artículo científico 2025, enero-junio, año 5, No. 9, 195-245
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Año 5, No. 9, enero-junio, 2025
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unity, justice, and social welfare can give a framework for a holistic and
sustainable approach to environmental policy, according to the findings of the
study. The study implies that a Pancasila-based approach to environmental policy
would emphasise the conservation of the natural environment and the well-being
of all living things over economic growth and human profit alone. This strategy
would also recognise the importance of indigenous knowledge and practises in
environmental management and conservation. The study also emphasises the
significance of including women and marginalised communities in environmental
policy decision-making, as these groups are disproportionately affected by
environmental degradation and have unique perspectives and experiences to
contribute.
Keywords: Environmental policy, revolution, worldviews, environmental law;
anthropocentrism, ecofeminism.
De políticas ambientales centradas en el ser humano a políticas
ecofeministas: aprovechando el pancasila para soluciones de
sostenibilidad global
Resumen
Este artículo examina el cambio de puntos de vista antropocéntricos a
ecofeministas en la política ambiental y cómo este cambio podría incorporarse en
una solución basada en el Pancasila para las preocupaciones ambientales globales.
El antropocentrismo es la visión de que los humanos son los seres más poderosos
y valiosos del planeta y que el mundo natural existe principalmente para el
beneficio humano. Esta perspectiva ha dominado durante mucho tiempo la política
ambiental, con leyes y prácticas centradas en la explotación de recursos naturales
para el consumo humano y el beneficio económico. El ecofeminismo, por otro
lado, es un punto de vista que reconoce la interdependencia de todos los seres
vivos y la importancia de proteger el medio ambiente para toda la vida, no solo la
vida humana. Este punto de vista enfatiza la importancia de apreciar y
salvaguardar el mundo natural y de reconocer el impacto de las acciones humanas
en el medio ambiente. El artículo sugiere que una transición de enfoques
antropocéntricos a enfoques ecofeministas en la política ambiental es vital para
abordar las actuales preocupaciones ambientales globales. Incorporar una
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estrategia basada en el Pancasila, que es el fundamento filosófico del estado
indonesio y subraya la importancia de la unidad, la justicia y el bienestar social,
puede proporcionar un marco para un enfoque holístico y sostenible de la política
ambiental, según los hallazgos del estudio. El estudio implica que un enfoque
basado en el Pancasila para la política ambiental enfatizaría la conservación del
entorno natural y el bienestar de todos los seres vivos sobre el crecimiento
económico y el beneficio humano solamente. Esta estrategia también reconocería
la importancia del conocimiento y las prácticas indígenas en la gestión y
conservación del medio ambiente. El estudio también destaca la importancia de
incluir a las mujeres y a las comunidades marginadas en la toma de decisiones de
la política ambiental, ya que estos grupos se ven desproporcionadamente afectados
por la degradación ambiental y tienen perspectivas y experiencias únicas que
contribuir.
Palabras clave: Política ambiental, revolución, cosmovisiones, Ley Ambiental,
antropocentrismo, ecofeminismo.
Introducción
Law and public policy go together like “Hand in Glove” (Kim, 2014). If the
two are not together, it is not complete. To understand this relationship, you can
look at it from both sides. According to Kraft and Furlong (Kraft & Furlong, 2017),
public policy is what government officials and, by extension, the people they
represent decide to do or not do about public problems. Public problems are
situations that most people agree are not acceptable and therefore need to be fixed.
Based on what Kraft and Furlong said above, public policy is what the
government does or does not do to solve social problems. Social problems are
situations that most people in society agree are wrong and therefore need help from
the government. In the meantime, according to Van Kan (1943), the law is a set of
living rules that can force people to do what is best for society.
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No matter how you look at the law and public policy, you can see that they
are connected because social problems need public policy as a natural form of
government intervention to solve them, either directly or indirectly. To help solve
these social problems, the government needs the law to protect the results of
mutually agreed-upon political agreements, which protect human interests against
different social problems. Also, Kim’s (2014) legal position is that it “gives
legitimacy and authority to state actions”. This means it gives the state or
government the right to carry out its policies to solve problems like the Covid-19
pandemic, poverty, and global warming. Global. Since the law controls how
people live together, everyone must be involved in making it.
Suppose the above social problems are simplified into environmental
problems. In that case, the public policy is an Environmental Policy, which gives
rise to Environmental Law, which the government uses to help solve
environmental problems like climate change and ecosystem degradation. Climate
change, deforestation, pollution, and the loss of biodiversity are just some of the
environmental problems that the world is facing right now. These problems
threaten the survival of humans and other species. Not only are these problems
significant, but they are also complicated. To solve them, we need to take a
comprehensive and inclusive approach (Chu & Karr, 2017).
Nevertheless, no matter how often the Environmental Policy is made to
solve existing environmental problems, either through international agreements or
national laws, environmental problems still exist or even get worse, with all their
complexities, on both the global and domestic levels, or in first world countries
and third world countries (Duckett et al., 2016; Sui & Rejeski, 2002).
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Arwida (2017) and others did research that thoroughly analysed 388
documents about REDD+ in Indonesia made by Intergovernmental Agencies,
National/Subnational Agencies, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and
International Companies and found that only 83 of them mentioned gender. Very
few of these include gender mainstreaming in a way that can be called integrated
and substantial. Many people only talk about gender as a demographic or statistical
fact, which seems shallow. Usually, there are statements about why gender should
be considered and how important it is to include both men and women. However,
there is little information about gender in national and subnational policies and
projects. In the 83 documents about gender, women's roles as stakeholders, forest
users, and essential members of society are barely mentioned.
A “marginalised society” is a term that is often used to describe women.
Even though only some women in each group are left out, their interests sometimes
align, intending to protect forests. For example, social role play was used in a study
about gender and oil palm conversion in Jambi, Indonesia, to determine how
women and men like to use land. This study finds that women are more likely to
turn public and private land into oil palm, while men are more likely to choose
conservation. Because of this, they are leaving women (and other target groups)
out of REDD+ decision-making forums will only make them less effective.
REDD+ is a way to stop deforestation and damage to forests by changing how
people in the area think and act.
In the last few decades, lawmakers around the world and at home have
shown their hypocrisy by trying to include Human Rights in the development of
Environmental Law (Shelton, 2006). These fields are narrowed down to the point
where they no longer seem independent bodies with different normative bases and
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ontological orientations. Instead, they are slowly shaped into a Modern
Environmental Law that improves normative interconnection and substantive
integration between environmental protection and environmental management by
upholding human rights over the environment. Nevertheless, the facts show that
human rights are being broken in many ways, especially regarding managing the
environment (Petersmann, 2018). For example, when the indigenous forest of the
Dayak Modang Long Lai Community in East Kalimantan was taken away to make
room for an oil palm plantation, three Modang Long Wai Dayak Traditional
Leaders in Long Shape Village were charged with crimes (Toumbourou, 2018).
This shows an urgent need for a fundamental change in how society and
government interact with the biophysical environment to find a way out of this
terrible ecological situation. Nevertheless, there will always be differences in ideas
and consensus patterns that will affect how profound and radical such changes are
(McPhearson et al., 2021).
This study shows how environmental policy and management are changing
in terms of how they are seen and how they are run. It also talks about how
important it is to use values and principles from Pancasila, the Indonesian nation's
philosophy, to deal with global environmental problems.
Anthropocentrism is the idea that people are Earth's most valuable and
important species. It is the most common way of thinking about environmental
policy and management(Goralnik & Nelson, 2012; Kopnina et al., 2018). It
emphasises economic growth and human well-being more than the natural
environment. However, this way of doing things has been criticised because it does
not consider the rights and well-being of other species and the natural
environment.
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On the other hand, ecofeminism stresses how all living things are connected
and how important it is to respect and protect the natural environment
(Buckingham, 2015; Shiva et al., 2014; Warren, 2000). It also shows how issues
of gender, race, and class are linked to environmental issues. Ecofeminism wants
people to stop looking at things from a human-centred point of view and instead
see the value of nature and the right of all living things to grow and change.
This study examines how shifting ecofeminist perspectives could help
Indonesians deal with global environmental problems based on Pancasila values.
Pancasila is the Indonesian nation’s philosophy. It is based on the ideas that there
is only one God who is all-powerful, that people should be fair and civilised, that
Indonesia should be one country, that democracy should be led by wisdom, and
that everyone should be treated fairly. Putting Pancasila values into environmental
policy and management can help solve environmental problems in a way that
considers all living things’ health and protects the natural environment.
Literature review
The discipline of environmental studies has been confronted with many
global concerns, including pollution, loss of biodiversity, and climate change
(Laska, 1993). These issues have led to a growing awareness of the need to
transition from an anthropocentric approach to a more holistic and inclusive one
that considers the rights and needs of all living creatures and the environment
itself. In recent years, ecofeminism has emerged as one strategy that has garnered
attention as a possible way to address global concerns in environmental protection
(Gaard, 2010; Peterson & Peterson, 1996). The purpose of this literature study is
to investigate the trends in environmental policy away from Anthropocentrism and
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toward ecofeminism, as well as how to respond to global concerns in the
environmental area based on the principles of Pancasila.
The concept that people are the most significant and valuable organisms on
earth and that nature exists for the benefit of humans is known as
Anthropocentrism (Campbell, 1983; Mylius, 2018). This point of view has long
been the preeminent paradigm in environmental policy, which has emphasised
human requirements and interests at the expense of the natural world and other
forms of life (Biermann, 2021). This strategy has been criticised because it has
resulted in a disregard for the rights and requirements of other species as well as
the environment itself, which has contributed to the current environmental issues
faced on a worldwide scale.
An approach known as ecofeminism aims to address the interconnectivity of
social, economic, and environmental challenges, as well as how gender and power
affect these issues (Buckingham, 2015; Kings, 2017). This strategy emphasises
the rights and requirements of all living things, including the environment. It
works toward developing an approach to environmental policy that is more
comprehensive and inclusive. Ecofeminism is an alternative to the anthropocentric
approach that has been presented as a means of addressing the issues that are
facing the environment on a global scale.
Belief in One Almighty God and Civilized Humanity, Unity of Indonesia,
Democracy, and Social Justice are the Five Principles That Makeup Pancasila the
Philosophical Foundation of the Indonesian State. Pancasila is also the Indonesian
National Philosophy (Irawan, 2020). Ecofeminism, which emphasises the rights
and needs of all living things as well as the significance of social justice and
democracy, is strongly related to the ideals that are being discussed here
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(MacGregor, 2004; Sandilands, 1997). Ecofeminism may be used to implement
Pancasila values in the sphere of environmental protection and provide a response
to global concerns.
Several empirical studies investigate the change in environmental policy
away from Anthropocentrism and toward ecofeminism, as well as how
ecofeminism responds to global concerns in the environmental area based on the
principles of Pancasila. For instance, Permatasari and Siswandi research
(Permatasari & Siswadi, 2022) investigates how ecofeminist ideas might be used
in Indonesia, as well as how Pancasila principles can be used to address issues
such as deforestation and the loss of biodiversity and climate change—according
to the study's findings, implementing ecofeminist principles resulted in less land
being cleared for development, higher levels of biodiversity, and lower emissions
of greenhouse gases.
Another investigation into the influence of ecofeminism posits that the
oppression of women and the environment are interconnected and that
empowering women can lead to preserving natural resources and sustainable
living. The study highlights the importance of gender mainstreaming as a program
to achieve gender equality and the participation of various stakeholders, including
the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, NGOs, and communities, in reducing
poverty in Indonesian districts. The research suggests that ecofeminism can
provide an alternative approach to environmental rehabilitation and sustainable
living, significantly reducing poverty in Indonesia (Husein et al., 2021).
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Research methods
The feminist method is a critical and holistic approach that tries to
comprehend the social and political consequences of gender and power in the
environment (Hesse-Bibber & Piatelli, 2023; Lafrance & Wigginton, 2019). This
study will employ the feminist method as the research method, which will involve
using the word “method”. This method will be utilised to investigate the
movements in environmental policy away from Anthropocentrism and toward
ecofeminism, as well as how to respond to global concerns in the environmental
area based on the principles of Pancasila.
An exhaustive literature analysis of previous studies on environmental
policy, Anthropocentrism, ecofeminism, and the Pancasila ideals will be the initial
phase in the study process. This will give background and context for the research
and identify gaps in the existing literature that this study attempts to fill.
The purpose of this study is to identify patterns and themes related to the
shift in environmental policies towards ecofeminism and to determine how to
respond to global challenges in the environmental field based on Pancasila values
using the data that was collected from interviews, case studies, and reviews of
relevant literature.
At the end of this study, a summary of the findings and a discussion of the
significance of the research for environmental policy and the application of
ecofeminist principles based on Pancasila ideals will be presented.
Results
Scientists today assert that we have entered a new period, the Anthropocene
epoch, in which our species (humans) has become the most influential force on
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Earth. The current climate change and extinction of species are caused by human
activity and our species' sizeable ecological footprint (Roka, 2019).
Climatic disasters and extreme climate events have taken lives, including the
floods in Thailand in 2011 and Pakistan in 2010 (Garbero & Muttarak, 2013). The
forest fires in Russia, more powerful cyclones and typhoons, and droughts are
instances of how people have disturbed the planet's climate system. The industrial
agriculture practised by humans has resulted in the extinction of 75% of species
(Chu & Karr, 2017). Every day, three to three hundred species become extinct.
How humans and the world progress in the future will rely on how well we
comprehend the human impact on the planet (Martin et al., 2016).
Shiva (2014) stated that, for the first time, contemporary science was the
brainchild of the “fathers of disaster”. They do not require women as moms to
create new machines. This realisation leads to a fundamental critique of modern
science devoid of emotion, ethics, and accountability. In all their avatars, they
require violence to generate this technology. Since the advent of patriarchy,
women worldwide have been viewed as part of nature, with their bodies operating
similarly to those of other mammals in terms of instinctual behaviour. Men can
subjugate, exploit, and control women in a manner analogous to nature. Science,
technology, and violence are the means for this. The reductionist science notions
considered value-free include the destruction of nature, new weapons, genetic
engineering, modern agriculture, and other technologies.
These diverse types of dominance and oppression are the effects of the
Anthropocene, which stem from the arrogance and arrogance of humans. This is
demonstrated by scientists' efforts to implement geo-engineering, genetic
engineering, and synthetic biology as technical solutions to climate, food, and