Dukungan Masyarakat untuk Pengembangan Ekowisata di Lahan Gambut Kalimantan Tengah: Perspektif Ekonomi, Sosial, dan Lingkungan

ABSTRACT Tropical peatlands are ecologically vital for the global ecosystem, but their sustainability depends largely on community involvement. In the Kahayan-Sebangau Peat Hydrology Unit, community support is essential for successful ecotourism development. The community not only benefits from ecotourism but also plays an active role in maintaining the ecosystem. Active participation in planning and implementation ensures long-term ecotourism sustainability while preventing conflicts and environmental degradation. This study examines the economic, social, and environmental factors influencing local community support for ecotourism in Central Kalimantan's peatlands. The study used a mixed methods approach combining qualitative and quantitative data, which was analyzed through partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Results show that economic and social impacts significantly affect community support, while environmental impacts moderate this relationship. Positive economic impacts include job creation, increased community income, and improved tourism infrastructure, while social benefits involve stronger community interaction and empowerment programs. However, negative consequences such as uneven development, community conflicts, and environmental degradation also emerged. Data were gathered through interviews and questionnaires from 100 local respondents representing various age groups, education levels, and employment sectors, using a Likert scale. The analysis met convergent and discriminant validity, with loading factor values above 0.708 and average variance extraction (AVE) values over 0.5. The research model met the fit criteria with an SRMR value below 0.1. This study concludes that economic, social, and environmental factors highly influence local community support and that balanced ecotourism development can improve community welfare and environmental sustainability.