UNAIR NEWS Amid environmental degradation marked by landslides on the slopes of Mount Bromo, a grassroots ecological movement has emerged from residents of Ngadirejo Village, Tutur District, Pasuruan Regency. Through an initiative titled Paying for Education with Air, the local community is now leading forest conservation efforts to build economic independence and support future access to education.
In collaboration with the Human, Culture, and Physical Anthropology Laboratory (Lab ManuBuRa) of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP), 51 (), and Perhutani East Java Regional Division, the community launched an education endowment initiative called Putra Putri Peradaban Tengger. The fund is generated through the monetization of environmental services using a carbon credit scheme, based on forest conservation efforts and the planting of 10,000 mountain pine trees.
Frontline role
Head of the Manubura Anthropology Laboratory at FISIP UNAIR, Prof. Dr. Mohammad Adib, M.A., emphasized that indigenous and local communities should not be seen as passive recipients, but as key actors on the front lines of environmental protection. Four research assistants from Lab ManuBuRa were also present: Alya Wafa Indria, Fatimah Azzarah, and Rafa Ghaniya Nahayasa.
Today, we prove that sovereignty lies in the hands of the people. When communities realize that every pine tree they protect represents the cost of education for their future generations, forest conservation is no longer a burden, but a necessity. This is how we achieve self-reliance, transforming oxygen into university degrees, said Prof. Adib while opening the Green Economy Dialogue at the LMDH Cemara Indah Secretariat Office on Saturday, March 28, 2026.
Real action to protect 62 water sources
The initiative extends beyond symbolic activities. Members of LMDH Cemara Indah and the Nusantara Spring Protection Task Force conducted field research across five hamlets, starting in Kletak Hamlet. The main focus is to map and secure 62 water sources that serve as a critical lifeline for thousands of residents in Pasuruan.
The head of LMDH Cemara Indah stated that community involvement in maintaining 10,000 mountain pine seedlings represents a tangible prayer to prevent environmental disasters. Through a green economy approach, residents of Ngadirejo now have strong economic incentives to preserve trees, as standing forests are far more valuable than harvested timber.
International model potential
This initiative has also attracted international attention. The community-based green economy model from the slopes of Mount Bromo is being proposed as a replicable model at the global level, including through strategic communication with the Embassy of the Russian Federation.
Through the synergy of academic research, forestry governance, and indigenous wisdom, Ngadirejo Village is sending a strong message to the world: forest conservation and public welfare can go hand in hand without compromising one another.
The event also included the inauguration of the East Java Provincial Spring Protection Task Force, represented by Aminoto, S.I.P., M.A.P., and the Ngadirejo Village Spring Protection Task Force, represented by Nia Miftahuz Zainiah, by the Nusantara Spring Protection Task Force led by Guntur Bisowarno, S.Si., Apt. The inauguration was accompanied by Head of the Human, Culture, and Physical Anthropology Laboratory Prof. Dr. Mohammad Adib, M.A., representatives from Perhutani East Java Regional Division including Head of Planning Imam Suyuti, S.Hut., M.M., and Pasuruan Forest Management Unit Administrator Ivan Cahyo Susanto, S.Hut., as well as the National Kalpataru Forum represented by Benito Lopulalan.
Author: Adam Wahyu Saputra
