Revitalisasi Pariwisata Taman Nasional Bunaken Melalui Kajian Ekoteologi Robert P. Borrong

Overview

Investigates revitalization of marine tourism in Bunaken National Park through Robert P. Borrong’s ecotheological framework. Identifies a normative deficit in current coastal conservation and tourism governance and proposes a contextualized conceptual model that integrates theological ethics—specifically ecological justice and human moral responsibility—with local management practices. Novelty derives from application of Borrong’s ecotheology to a site-specific marine tourism governance model for BNP.

Methods and approach

Employs qualitative analysis via critical literature review of primary and secondary sources on ecotheology, Borrong’s writings, and sustainable tourism scholarship. Analytical emphasis is placed on extracting normative principles and translating them into governance-relevant constructs. Synthesis involves mapping theological concepts onto managerial functions relevant to marine protected area revitalization, stakeholder roles, and ethical decision-making.

Results

Borrong’s ecotheology foregrounds ecological justice and the notion of humans as moral partners in creation care, reframing stewardship as a distributive and relational ethical obligation rather than solely an instrumental management imperative. From this doctrinal lens a contextual conceptual model for BNP is articulated, combining theological imperatives with practical governance elements: ethical stewardship norms, community-based participation mechanisms, faith-community engagement, and regulatory alignment for sustainable tourism practices. The model positions churches, local communities, and park authorities as complementary moral agents with defined roles in conservation and tourism governance.

Implications

Provides an ethical reference frame for integrating faith-based actors into multi-stakeholder governance, recommending institutional channels for theological engagement in policy formation, community education, and compliance monitoring. Suggests operationalizing ecotheological principles through participatory governance structures, capacity-building for local stakeholders, and embedding ecological justice metrics into tourism management indicators. Indicates avenues for empirical validation through implementation pilots, longitudinal ecological and social impact assessment, and comparative analysis across other marine protected areas.