Religious Alliance and LH Ministry Call for National Ecological Tobat

Photo: Special

JAKARTA - Environment Minister Jumhur Hidayat held a dialogue with cross-religious moral movements that are part of Siaga Bumi (Indonesia Moving to Save BUMI), at the Environment Ministry Building, Kuningan, Jakarta.

In this strategic meeting, a strong understanding was reached regarding the importance of cultural approaches and religious persuasions in addressing the threat of ecological collapse.

In the meeting, the Minister of Environment was accompanied by the Secretary of the Ministry, along with several special staff and deputies. Meanwhile, the Earth Alert delegation was led by Din Syamsuddin as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

On that occasion, Prof. Din Syamsuddin explained the long history of Earth Alert, which was established since 2015 as a moral movement of religious people.

This movement is a tangible manifestation of inclusive collaboration consisting of eight elements of the Inter-Religious Council (IRC) of Indonesia, including the Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI), the Federation of Churches in Indonesia (PGI), the Indonesian Bishops' Conference (KWI), the Indonesian Hindu Dharma Association (PHDI), the Indonesian Buddhist Association (Permabudhi), the Indonesian Confucian Religious High Council (Matakin).

Not only that, there is also representation from the academic world through campuses that have environmental studies, including the National University or UNAS.

"Earth Alert has moved through various concrete programs, one of which is the Eco Rumah Ibadah movement. This program focuses on physical and environmental cleanliness around houses of worship, sustainable water management, and waste management," said Prof. Din Syamsuddin in an official statement, Saturday, June 13, 2026.

This movement is also in line with and has the support of Pope Leo XIV in his latest message for the World Day of Prayer for Creation 2025:

"Environmental justice can no longer be considered an abstract concept or a distant goal. It is a matter of justice - social, economic and human. For believers, it is also a duty born of faith. Now is the time to follow words with deeds."

Responding to the exposure, the Minister of Environment, Jumhur Hidayat welcomed and appreciated the consistency of Earth Alert.

He revealed that the Ministry of LH is preparing a major agenda called the National Ecological Reconciliation.

"This strategic program includes large-scale concrete actions, ranging from reforestation through planting 2 billion trees to strict data collection on environmentally damaging industries," he said.

The Minister of LH emphasized, 'that behind the challenges and threats of the massive environmental crisis today, there are great opportunities that arise from the spirit of togetherness.

"All diverse parties - across religions, across countries, across professions, and across expertise - can now unite because they all feel a moral responsibility for environmental issues," he explained.

"We at the LH Ministry feel that there is a need for social engineering and religious persuasion to influence and change people's behavior towards the environment," he continued.

Both parties agreed that the root of the main problem of the current ecological crisis is a cultural and lifestyle issue.

Therefore, a new cultural process is needed that is carried out simultaneously, both through quick steps that are responsive and education slowly and deeply.