Exploring the Spiritual Meanings of Forest Conservation among Traditional Guardians in Indigenous Southeast Asian Communities
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Abstract
Environmental sustainability research increasingly acknowledges the role of cultural and spiritual values in shaping conservation practices. Among traditional forest guardians, ecological behavior is deeply embedded in spiritual beliefs and ancestral identity, yet this subjective dimension remains understudied. Previous studies have largely relied on technical or quantitative approaches, leaving a gap in understanding how spiritual meaning informs environmental stewardship prompting the question: How do traditional guardians experience and interpret their role in forest conservation through spiritual frameworks? Here we show, through an interpretative phenomenological approach, how traditional forest guardians perceive conservation as a sacred responsibility and a lived expression of cultural identity. Data were collected via in-depth semi-structured interviews with ten traditional forest guardians (6 males, 4 females, aged 35–72) from the Dayak indigenous community in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, and analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). The fieldwork was conducted between March and May 2024. Findings revealed five core themes, including spiritual rituals, ancestral connection, and resistance to modern conservation paradigms, highlighting that forest care is rooted in emotional, ethical, and metaphysical experiences. The approach enabled the extraction of essential meanings that transcend observable ecological actions and provided a nuanced understanding of lived ecological consciousness. These insights contribute to a more holistic, culturally grounded model of conservation and suggest that environmental strategies should integrate, rather than overlook, local spiritual-ecological knowledge.
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