From Norms To Action: Transforming Community Legal Obligations In Groundwater Control Through Community-Based Governance Models

Abstract

Uncontrolled groundwater use in urban residential areas, particularly in Jakarta, poses serious risks including land subsidence and seawater intrusion that threaten environmental sustainability. This study aims to examine the adequacy of community legal obligations in groundwater use and to analyze their potential transformation through community-based governance models. This normative legal research employs a statute approach and a case study approach, focusing on the environmental management practices of RT 08 Malaka Jaya, East Jakarta. The study finds that although a normative framework exists under Law 32/2009, Law 17/2019, and Government Regulation 30/2024, the regulations remain inadequate due to their declarative and individualistic character, which is misaligned with the collective ecological nature of groundwater — rendering the law effective only as law in the books rather than law in action. The case study of RT 08 Malaka Jaya demonstrates that abstract legal obligations can be operationalized through integrated conservation, data transparency, and participatory leadership. The novelty of this study lies in its paradigm shift from individual-based regulation toward collective area-based governance, strengthening the role of RT/RW as sustainable residential environmental management units.