One tiny step forward in conservation effort

One tiny step forward in conservation effort

Reed Merrill, Contributor, Jakarta

Indonesia is known around the world for its rich and beautiful
natural heritage. And, sadly, the country is also known for the
rapid degradation of this natural heritage.

Since the beginning of the multidimensional political and
economic crisis that started in 1997, the rate of environmental
damage has sky-rocketed.

All too regularly, we here new stories about the atrocities of
illegal logging, floods and landslides linked to environmental
degradation, and the trade in endangered animals, either for pets
or for food.

Especially as Indonesia sorts out the rules of the game for an
ambitious decentralization program, and while laws and polices
are enforced in an unclear and inequitable manner, trends of
environmental degradation are expected to continue.

Real progress in sustainable natural resources management and
nature conservation rests on a more stable political and policy
environment. Things are more stable today than a few years ago.
Hopefully this trend will pick-up momentum after the 2004
elections.

Fifth World Parks Congress

2003 was an important year for conservation, both for
Indonesia and around the world. The year was marked by the Fifth
World Parks Congress, held in September, in Durban, South Africa.

This once-in-a-decade event brought together 3,600
conservationists from around the world to assess trends and plan
for the future of effective protected areas management. The main
message of the congress was the need for protected areas to
provide benefits beyond boundaries.

This was an important message for the fifty-plus Indonesian
delegates to the Congress. Conservationists know that it is not
enough to lock away protected areas, and to manage them in
isolation of broader development initiatives and community
aspirations.

In Indonesia, with the increasing power of local government,
their primary focus on economic development, and increasing
threats to Protected Areas, it has become clear that the last
hope for conservation rests in balancing conservation and
development. In Indonesia, conservation can only be effective if
it provides benefits beyond park boundaries.

Collaborative management

The conservation movement in Indonesia has recognized the
importance of providing benefits beyond boundaries for a number
of years. To achieve this, there has been a growing trend toward
collaborative management. Collaborative management provides an
integrated approach to conservation of protected areas.

Management is not kept in the hands of a single government
agency. Rather, on a site-specific basis, park management
identifies and then facilitates partnerships with a range of park
stakeholders.

Stakeholders can be local government agencies, NGOs, community
organizations, universities and the private sector. While they
vary from park to park, stakeholders share an interest in the
conservation management of a protected area as well as a degree
of capacity to contribute toward this.

Over the past few years, international and national NGOs, as
well as a number of donor projects, have worked with the Ministry
of Forestry and local stakeholders to develop effective field
initiatives in collaborative management.

From Bali Barat to Bunaken, and from Kayan Mentarang to
Komodo, a suite of site-specific collaborative management
initiatives have blossomed.

With the demonstrated success of collaborative management,
2003 provided a benchmark in providing policy support for this
new conservation paradigm. With a policy shift from closed access
to regulated open access, the Ministry of Forestry instructed all
national park managers to establish collaborative management
forums.

This is a crucial step towards providing benefits beyond
boundaries, as this policy integrates conservation of parks in
the broader context of regional development.

Local protected areas

2003 also saw the emergence of locally-designated protected
areas. From Aru to Derawan, a number of regents from across the
country are exploring ways to gazette local protected areas in
order to boost tourism opportunities or protect important areas
of locally-significant natural heritage.

Again, we see the theme of benefits beyond boundaries. While
there is a diversity in the kinds of protected areas being
designated at the local level, they share a key objective:
conserving a park so the broader economic benefits can be enjoyed
by the public.

The country currently lacks a clear policy framework to
support the designation and management of locally-gazetted
protected areas. But with increased demand by local government
agencies, and with the support of local conservation community,
it is likely that this movement will increase pace in coming
years.

Marine protected areas networks

Indonesia's conservation movement also made significant
strides in marine protected areas (MPA) management in 2003.

Again, this is driven by the clear link between economic
benefits with effective conservation management. Driven by
decreased fish catch and the recognition of the need to enhance
the livelihoods of those living in coastal communities, progress
has been made to strengthen an integrated MPA system.

A national-level working group of government officials, with
NGO and donor project technical support, is working on a state of
the art MPA system and strategy for Indonesia. For the first
time, a network that integrates large, nationally-managed MPAs
with small, locally-managed MPAs is being established.

With the commitment of local communities, local governments
and national government agencies, this MPA network can
demonstrate to Indonesia and the world that MPA conservation can
result in increased economic development.

Looking ahead

Tragically, 2003 brought witness to the price of ignoring
conservation. On Nov. 2, some 239 people lost their lives and
hundreds more were made homeless when floods devastated Bahorok
town, Langkat regency, in Gunung Leuser National Park. While we
still try to understand the cause of this disaster, it acts as a
wake-up call to all of us.

Our long-term well-being hinges on balancing sustainable use
of natural resources with conservation of our protected areas.
Especially sad is that this disaster happened within a National
Park. This tragedy must act as a wake-up call to all of us, and
drive us to more effectively integrate economic development with
conservation of our natural heritage.

Positively, 2003 closed with global recognition of Indonesia's
efforts to balance conservation and economic development. In
December, British Airways announced that Bunaken National Park
won the prestigious Tourism for Tomorrow award.

Selected as grand prize winner from more than seventy entries
from around the world, the Tourism for Tomorrow award recognizes
Bunaken's success in integrating conservation of the park with
improving local livelihoods and contributing to the local
economy.

Significantly, Bunaken won this global award by demonstrating
to the world that conservation can produce benefits beyond
boundaries.

Conservation is and will remain a challenge in Indonesia. Its
success is crucial to the long-term sustainable growth of the
country. This requires mainstreaming of conservation into
development planning.

It also requires a stable political and policy field from
which to grow. A new conservation paradigm has emerged. Let's
hope we still have time to make it work.

The author is an advisor to the USAID's Natural Resources
Management Project Protected Areas & Agriculture