{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "id": 1835792,
        "msgid": "measuring-indonesias-marine-wealth-1782964365",
        "date": "2026-07-02 10:06:46",
        "title": "Measuring Indonesia's Marine Wealth",
        "author": "",
        "source": "DETIK",
        "tags": "",
        "topic": "Economy",
        "summary": "Indonesia is shifting its perspective on maritime resources, moving beyond extraction to valuing the ocean as 'natural capital' that provides essential ecosystem services. The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries is developing a Marine Resource Balance Sheet and an 'Ocean Calculator' platform to quantify the economic, social, and ecological benefits of marine ecosystems. This data-driven approach aims to support evidence-based policy and ensure the sustainability of national food security and economic growth under President Prabowo's agenda.",
        "content": "<p>Indonesia has always proudly called itself a maritime nation. More\nthan two-thirds of its territory is ocean, with a coastline stretching\nnearly 100,000 kilometres, over 17,000 islands, and marine biodiversity\nthat is among the largest in the world. The sea is not only a space\nconnecting the archipelago, but also a source of food, energy, trade,\nand national identity. Yet behind these various advantages, there is\ncertainly a curiosity: what exactly is the value of Indonesia\u2019s marine\nwealth? This question sounds simple, but the answer is far more complex\nthan merely calculating fish production, export value, or investment in\nthe marine sector. For decades, marine development has focused more on\nmeasuring what can be taken from the sea rather than what the sea\nactually provides for life. Long before producing fish caught by\nfishermen or becoming a marine tourism destination, the sea has provided\nvarious ecosystem services that sustain human life. Coral reefs serve as\nhabitats for thousands of species of fish and marine biota that support\nfishery productivity. Seagrass beds act as nurseries for various biota\nwhile storing blue carbon that plays a role in climate change\nmitigation. Coastal ecosystems protect shorelines from abrasion and\nwaves, maintain water quality, and support the livelihoods of millions\nof coastal communities. All these benefits have real economic value, but\nthey have almost never been included in development calculations. When\nan ecosystem is degraded, the loss is often seen merely as an\nenvironmental issue. In reality, what is lost is development capital.\nFishery productivity declines, coastal resilience weakens, investment\nopportunities shrink, and community welfare is affected. Ironically,\nthis loss is often not reflected in development indicators. Gross\nDomestic Product can increase due to economic activity, while at the\nsame time the quality of natural resources continues to decline. Growth\nappears to improve on paper, but the foundation supporting it is slowly\nbeing eroded. This is the paradox that many countries are now beginning\nto recognise: economic growth is not sustainable if it is built by\ndepleting natural capital. This awareness has given rise to a paradigm\nshift in global natural resource governance. The ocean is no longer\nviewed merely as a geographical space or a resource to be exploited, but\nas natural capital that generates sustainable economic, social, and\necological benefits. Like other state assets, natural capital must be\nrecorded, valued, and managed so that its benefits endure for future\ngenerations. From this, the concept of natural capital accounting has\ndeveloped, an approach that incorporates environmental assets into\nnational accounting systems. The United Nations subsequently developed\nthe System of Environmental-Economic Accounting framework so that\nnatural resources are no longer positioned solely as factors of\nproduction, but as part of national wealth that must be managed\nsystematically. In the marine sector, this approach has evolved into\nocean accounting, a system that integrates ecological, social, and\neconomic information to describe the true value of marine and coastal\necosystems. This approach no longer stops at questions about the size of\nan area or the quantity of available resources, but also calculates the\nbenefits these ecosystems provide for community life, the national\neconomy, and environmental sustainability. This shift in perspective is\nhighly relevant to Indonesia\u2019s current development direction. In his\nAsta Cita vision, President Prabowo Subianto places food security,\nquality economic growth, natural resource downstreaming, and sustainable\ndevelopment as key agendas. All these aspirations share one\nprerequisite: the state\u2019s ability to manage natural resources based on\nscience and accurate data. For Indonesia, as the world\u2019s largest\narchipelagic nation, the sea is a strategic asset for realising this\nagenda. National food security cannot be achieved without sustainable\nfish resources. Marine downstreaming will not be sustainable if marine\nspaces are managed without regard for environmental carrying capacity.\nLikewise, coastal economic growth will not last if the ecosystems that\nsupport it continue to decline in quality. In other words, data-driven\nmarine development is not merely a technical necessity, but part of the\nnational development strategy. It is within this context that the\nMinistry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries is developing the Marine\nResource Balance Sheet. This initiative stems from the need for a system\nthat can record, measure, and assess Indonesia\u2019s marine wealth more\ncomprehensively. It goes beyond calculating the size of an area or the\nquantity of available resources to understanding the economic, social,\nand ecological benefits generated by each marine ecosystem. The Marine\nResource Balance Sheet serves as a crucial foundation for transforming\nmarine governance towards evidence-based policy, where decisions are\nmade based on scientific evidence rather than mere assumptions or\nshort-term considerations. With this approach, every decision regarding\nthe utilisation of marine space can consider both economic benefits and\nthe ecological values that must be preserved. One of the instruments\ndeveloped to support the implementation of the Marine Resource Balance\nSheet is the Ocean Calculator. This geospatial platform utilises spatial\ndata, satellite imagery, and various scientific research findings to\nhelp calculate the economic value of marine and coastal ecosystem\nservices more quickly, accurately, and in a way that is easily\naccessible to policymakers and stakeholders.<\/p>",
        "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/measuring-indonesias-marine-wealth-1782964365",
        "image": ""
    },
    "sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
    "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}