Forging a legal culture: criminal law enforcement in environmental protection amidst the sustainable development era

The research explores the challenges of creating a responsive legal culture in the environmental sector, focusing on Indonesia’s environmental legislation, specifically Law Number 32 of 2009. It highlights the disparities between legal ideals and practical implementation, particularly in addressing behavioural changes toward the environment. The study highlights the need to integrate environmental justice values into criminal law enforcement, considering their impact on human rights and environmental sustainability. The reactive enforcement pattern towards administrative violations or repetitions has yet to accommodate environmental justice values fully. Factors such as lack of awareness of environmental importance and dominance of economic interests in government policies also pose significant challenges. The research calls for a legal culture that is more responsive to environmental justice values, both within society and among law enforcement officials.