Measuring Indonesia's Marine Wealth

Indonesia has always proudly called itself a maritime nation. More than two-thirds of its territory is ocean, with a coastline stretching nearly 100,000 kilometres, over 17,000 islands, and marine biodiversity that is among the largest in the world. The sea is not only a space connecting the archipelago, but also a source of food, energy, trade, and national identity. Yet behind these various advantages, there is certainly a curiosity: what exactly is the value of Indonesia’s marine wealth? This question sounds simple, but the answer is far more complex than merely calculating fish production, export value, or investment in the marine sector. For decades, marine development has focused more on measuring what can be taken from the sea rather than what the sea actually provides for life. Long before producing fish caught by fishermen or becoming a marine tourism destination, the sea has provided various ecosystem services that sustain human life. Coral reefs serve as habitats for thousands of species of fish and marine biota that support fishery productivity. Seagrass beds act as nurseries for various biota while storing blue carbon that plays a role in climate change mitigation. Coastal ecosystems protect shorelines from abrasion and waves, maintain water quality, and support the livelihoods of millions of coastal communities. All these benefits have real economic value, but they have almost never been included in development calculations. When an ecosystem is degraded, the loss is often seen merely as an environmental issue. In reality, what is lost is development capital. Fishery productivity declines, coastal resilience weakens, investment opportunities shrink, and community welfare is affected. Ironically, this loss is often not reflected in development indicators. Gross Domestic Product can increase due to economic activity, while at the same time the quality of natural resources continues to decline. Growth appears to improve on paper, but the foundation supporting it is slowly being eroded. This is the paradox that many countries are now beginning to recognise: economic growth is not sustainable if it is built by depleting natural capital. This awareness has given rise to a paradigm shift in global natural resource governance. The ocean is no longer viewed merely as a geographical space or a resource to be exploited, but as natural capital that generates sustainable economic, social, and ecological benefits. Like other state assets, natural capital must be recorded, valued, and managed so that its benefits endure for future generations. From this, the concept of natural capital accounting has developed, an approach that incorporates environmental assets into national accounting systems. The United Nations subsequently developed the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting framework so that natural resources are no longer positioned solely as factors of production, but as part of national wealth that must be managed systematically. In the marine sector, this approach has evolved into ocean accounting, a system that integrates ecological, social, and economic information to describe the true value of marine and coastal ecosystems. This approach no longer stops at questions about the size of an area or the quantity of available resources, but also calculates the benefits these ecosystems provide for community life, the national economy, and environmental sustainability. This shift in perspective is highly relevant to Indonesia’s current development direction. In his Asta Cita vision, President Prabowo Subianto places food security, quality economic growth, natural resource downstreaming, and sustainable development as key agendas. All these aspirations share one prerequisite: the state’s ability to manage natural resources based on science and accurate data. For Indonesia, as the world’s largest archipelagic nation, the sea is a strategic asset for realising this agenda. National food security cannot be achieved without sustainable fish resources. Marine downstreaming will not be sustainable if marine spaces are managed without regard for environmental carrying capacity. Likewise, coastal economic growth will not last if the ecosystems that support it continue to decline in quality. In other words, data-driven marine development is not merely a technical necessity, but part of the national development strategy. It is within this context that the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries is developing the Marine Resource Balance Sheet. This initiative stems from the need for a system that can record, measure, and assess Indonesia’s marine wealth more comprehensively. It goes beyond calculating the size of an area or the quantity of available resources to understanding the economic, social, and ecological benefits generated by each marine ecosystem. The Marine Resource Balance Sheet serves as a crucial foundation for transforming marine governance towards evidence-based policy, where decisions are made based on scientific evidence rather than mere assumptions or short-term considerations. With this approach, every decision regarding the utilisation of marine space can consider both economic benefits and the ecological values that must be preserved. One of the instruments developed to support the implementation of the Marine Resource Balance Sheet is the Ocean Calculator. This geospatial platform utilises spatial data, satellite imagery, and various scientific research findings to help calculate the economic value of marine and coastal ecosystem services more quickly, accurately, and in a way that is easily accessible to policymakers and stakeholders.