The CSR-CMR chairman, Sumanto Al Qurtuby, has been invited by Lembaga Persemaian Cinta Kemanusiaan (known as Percik-The Institute for Social Research, Democracy, and Social Justice) to join a National Roundtable Discussion (NRD), serving as a drafter or formulator, on the role of religious institutions in addressing climate change and population displacement in Indonesia. The NRD was held in the Jakarta Theological Seminary (STFT Jakarta) on June 19, 2026.
The NRD aims to discuss the research findings from a study conducted by Percik in collaboration with several international institutions, including Caritas Australia, Environmental Science for Social Change (the Philippines), and Jesuit Refugee Service-Asia Pacific.
The Percik research team, chaired by its head, Dr. Haryani Saptaningtyas, presented the results of their study, titled “The Role of Religious Institutions in Addressing Climate Change and Population Displacement,” with particular attention to the northern coastal areas of Java, especially Semarang and Demak. Semarang City and Demak are among the Indonesian coastal areas severely affected by climate change, resulting in mass population displacement.
According to the Percik research team, around 25 percent of the population in Demak reluctantly moved to other areas to avoid routine flooding during the rainy seasons. Others (75 percent) remain in their regions unwillingly due to a lack of funds.
This pressing issue occurs not only in Semarang City and Demak but also in many other coastal areas across Indonesia. As noted by Binsar Pakpahan, Rector of STFT Jakarta, during the NRD, around 2,000 islands are projected to disappear by 2050 as their elevations approach sea level. Equally, around 45 million Indonesians also live in areas just 10 meters above sea level, which endangers their future existence.
The NRD was closed by presenting participants’ opinions on ways to address global climate change, which is significantly affecting populations in Indonesia. One of the agreements was to build intergroup coalitions across the state and society, including interreligious alliances, to address these critical issues. Yet, this agreement is not easy to implement. An Islamic scholar from Demak, whose school has been affected by climate change, has noted that 1,000 fatwas issued by the ulama (Islamic scholars) were overruled by the signature of a high-ranking government official.
Reps from government institutions (especially the Ministry of Religious Affairs), research institutions, universities, Non-Governmental Organizations, and religious organizations attended the NRD, including Dr. Budy Munawar-Rachman (a special advisor to the Minister for Religious Affairs on issues related to eco-theology) and Adrianus Suyadi, SJ (from Lembaga Daya Dharma), both of whom also gave a keynote speech during the NRD from the perspectives of Islam and Christianity.