COMMUNITY-BASED WATER MANAGEMENT THROUGH CULTURAL ECOSYSTEM SERVICES: TRADITIONAL WISDOM AND MODERN ADAPTATION IN SENJOYO SPRING, INDONESIA

Winarti, Puji
Haryani, Sri
Wardani, Sri
Handayani, Langlang

Journal of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development
Vol. 9, No. 2

Small-scale freshwater ecosystems play vital ecological and cultural roles. However, community-based water management (CBWM) often lacks a clear analytical approach to integrating cultural ecosystem services (CES) and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), limiting the practical understanding of culturally grounded governance. To address this gap, this qualitative study explores the interactions between CES and TEK, analyzes their roles within CBWM, and identifies their implications for sustainable water governance. The integration between cultural value and local ecological knowledge makes Senjoyo Spring an appropriate location for this study. Data were collected through interviews with 20 key informants, field observations, forum group discussions (FGDs), and document analysis. Thematic analysis identified five CES dimensions, four major TEK practices, and three key CBWM characteristics. The thematic analysis indicates that CES and TEK are mutually reinforcing through rituals, customary norms, environmental ethics, and collective management practices. These interactions support stakeholder participation, collective action, and intergenerational knowledge transmission within the CBWM, contributing to culturally grounded and sustainable water governance. These findings suggest that to support long-term water sustainability, community-based water governance should recognize cultural values and locally embedded knowledge alongside institutional and ecological dimensions to support long-term water sustainability. This study proposes a CES–TEK framework that conceptualizes CES and TEK as mutually reinforcing elements within CBWM that mainly focus on institutional arrangements and community participation. The framework shows how intangible cultural dimensions shape water governance and conservation practices. The framework offers a basis for examining culturally grounded water governance in other small-scale freshwater ecosystems, particularly in nature-culture-rich countries such as Indonesia. The findings suggest that effective community-based water governance should recognize cultural values and locally embedded knowledge alongside institutional and ecological dimensions to support long-term water sustainability.