Florea : Jurnal Biologi dan Pembelajarannya, 8(1), 2021, 22-28 This is an open access article under the CC-BY-SA license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) ISSN 2355-6102(print), ISSN 2502-0404(online) DOI : 10.25273/florea.v8i1.8877 © 2021 Florea: Jurnal Biologi dan Pembelajarannya | 22 PERSEPSI MASYARAKAT TERHADAP FUNGSI RAWA DI DAERAH MUSI RAWAS Septi Kurnia 1) , Meli Astriani 2*) , Saleh Hidayat 3) , 1,2,3) Pendidikan Biologi, Program Pascasarjana, Universitas Muhammadiyah Palembang *email: meliastriani.g201@gmail.com Diterima 2 Februari 2021 disetujui 13 April 2021 diterbitkan 15 Mei 2021 ABSTRACT Swamps are part of relatively flat land along the coast, streams or lakes and there is vegetation in the form of water plants, leading to the land up to ± 100 km which is generally affected by tides from the surrounding rivers. The method used in this study is a qualitative descriptive method, namely a method of analysis that seeks to explain the conditions of the object of study according to certain criteria so that it can provide a real picture of what is happening in the research place. Public Perception of Swamp Function in the Musi Rawas Area. People living in O. mangunharjo Village use swamps to help farmers in the use of conversion of agricultural land. However, to find out people's perceptions of the function of swamps, there are ten questions to analyze the community's perceptions of the function of swamps in the Musi Rawas area. From the research activities, it is known that from the community's perception of the function of swampland in O. Mangunharjo village, Musi Rawas Regency, there are many activities or activities that occur around swamps carried out by farmers such as; looking for grass for livestock, then hoeing or plowing the fields and farmers who plant vegetables considering that swamps are very important to the balance of the environment, especially in the economy of the people around O. Mangunharjo village in Musi Rawas Regency, there are 2 respondents who do not know the impact of the damage the swamp ecosystem affects the surrounding environment and 3 respondents know its impact. Based on the results of the study, it can be concluded that the community knows the function of swamps in the surrounding settlements, namely that the presence of swamps can balance the ecological functions of the environment. Keywords: Ecosystem, Perception, Society, Swamp, Musi Rawa PENDAHULUAN Persepsi merupakan proses aktif memilah, menata dan menafsirkan orang, obyek, kejadian, situasi dan aktivitas. Manusia memilah hanya hal ihwal tertentu dalam hidup mereka, lalu menata dan menafsirkannya secara selektif. Persepsi membentuk bagaimana manusia memahami orang lain dan dunianya sekaligus berbagai pilihan yang diambil dalam hidup mereka. Contohnya, bila seseorang beranggapan (perceive) orang lain sebagai bermusuhan atau menentangnya, maka ia bisa berinteraksi secara defensif atau meminimalkan komunikasi. Dengan sendirinya, persepsi memotivasi seseorang untuk bersikap dan bertindak dalam sebagian besar aktivitas hidupnya (Jayanti & Arista, 2018). Arifin dkk, (2017), mengemukakan bahwa persepsi merupakan kemampuan panca indera dalam menerjemahkan stimulus atau proses untuk menerjemahkan stimulus yang masuk ke dalam alat indera manusia. Persepsi manusia terdapat perbedaan sudut pandang dalam penginderaan yang mempersepsikan sesuatu itu baik atau persepsi yang positif maupun persepsi negatif yang akan mempengaruhi tindakan manusia yang tampak atau nyata. Rawa merupakan bagian dari daratan yang relatif datar berada di sepanjang pantai, aliran sungai atau danau dan terdapat vegetasi berupa tumbuhan air,