Ecological Literation of Rawapening Communities in Asinan Village, Semarang District

Abstract

Rawapening is a natural lake located in Semarang Regency, Central Java. Currently, Rawapening is encountering some environmental problems such as sedimentation, and massive growth of Eceng Gondok (Eichhornia crassipes), conflict of interest in utilizing Rawapening and illegal buildings around Rawapening. On the other hand, the Rawapening community is very dependent on the existence of the lake in fisheries, agriculture, Eceng Gondok handicrafts, organic fertilizer production, and tourist attraction. For this reason, communities around Rawapening are expected to take part in maintaining the existence of Rawapening. Increasing ecological literacy associated with the Rawapening area is essential. Ecological literacy is an activity to understand the importance of preserving the environment supported by the environmental awareness. This article aims to determine the level of ecological literacy of the Rawapening suburbs in Asinan Village, Semarang Regency. The number of samples are 94 families proportionately spread in the hamlets of Krajan, Baan, Sumurup, and Mangkelang. The variables studied included knowledge of the Rawapening ecosystem, attitudes of sensitivity to environmental changes in Rawapening, and community behavior in saving Rawapening with environmentally friendly Behavior. The assessment was carried out using the 30 items multiple-choice test item through a test instrument. The results showed that the Asinan Village community's ecological literacy is mostly in the Good category. The details are from 94 respondents; there is 9.60% in the very high category, 55.30% in the high category, 34.1% in the medium category, and 1.0% in the low category. The details of sub-variables show that the average level of community knowledge related to ecosystem rewapening is high (3,9). The average Attitude of sensitivity to environmental changes in Rawapening is high (3,8), then the average Behavior of the community in terms of saving Rawapening is included medium category (3,1). From the results of the study, it was concluded that the ecological literacy level of the Asinan Village Community is in the high category; however, in terms of saving Rawapening with environmentally friendly Behavior, it was included in the Medium category. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out routine lake cleansing activities by involving the community to foster environmental care behavior in Rawapening.