The influence of bonai tribal remote indigenous community knowledge on the environment

Abstract

Empowerment of isolated and vulnerable communities in saving and preserving the environment is one of the development goals. Awareness of the communities plays an important role in saving and preserving the environment. The awareness cannot be separated from the level of knowledge about various things related to the environment itself. Knowledge that someone has may affect his/her attitude and behaviour. However, some people in the isolated and vulnerable communities do not know how to keep the environment clean and how to clear their land. Furthermore, some of the people do not care about their environment. This study aims to analyse environmental knowledge of Bonai ethnic isolated and vulnerable community of Rokan Hulu Regency of Riau province. Data of the study are collected from questionnaires, interviews and document analysis related to environmental knowledge of the isolated and vulnerable community. The method used in this study is the descriptive quantitative-qualitative method that describes the level of environmental knowledge of the community by using quantitative data. The technique used to analyse the data is the percentage technique. Then, the data are qualitatively interpreted. The research findings reveal that the environmental knowledge of Bonai community does vary in terms of gender, age, education level and profession. The isolated and vulnerable community status has a significant correlation to environmental knowledge of the community. In conclusion, the level of knowledge of Bonai isolated and vulnerable community belongs to the low category.