Time for RI to look seaward, tap its vast marine resources
Time for RI to look seaward, tap its vast marine resources
Jason M. Patlis , Jakarta
There is a series of statistics that is often cited by
government policymakers to underscore the importance and richness
of Indonesia's oceans: Indonesia is the world's largest
archipelagic country, comprised of more than 17,000 islands, with
more than two-thirds of its sovereign jurisdiction consisting of
marine area. Its 81,000 km-coastline is second only to Canada's,
and more than 60 percent of its population live within 50 kms of
the shoreline.
In economic terms, about 26 percent of the country's GDP comes
from coastal and marine resources. In ecological abundance,
Indonesia is the world's center for marine biological diversity,
home to 16 percent of the world's coral reefs, and 30 percent of
the world's mangroves.
Statistics also abound to demonstrate the ever-worsening
condition of marine and coastal resources. About 80 percent of
the coastal population lives in poverty. Fisheries across the
archipelago have decreased rapidly in productivity as a result of
the poorly regulated domestic fishing effort, and illegal foreign
catch. Only six percent of coral reefs are considered to be in an
excellent condition, and almost half of the country's mangroves
have been lost to development, harvest or conversion.
In citing these statistics, officials, however, often refer to
the difficult challenges in the sustainable management of
Indonesia's marine and coastal resources. The primary culprit is
the sectoral nature of resource management, which actually
plagues not only Indonesia, but almost every other country with a
coastline.
Indonesia, for example, has more than 22 legislations
governing 14 different sectors, such as fisheries, forestry,
agriculture, tourism, energy, and mining, oil and gas,
transportation, and so on. In implementing these legislations,
hundreds of government regulations were issued, many of which
overlap.
Beyond the sectoral nature of resource management, there is a
much more complicated story as to why sustainable coastal and
marine-resource management is so elusive in Indonesia, and why
the stakes are so high. The larger reasons stem from systemic
characteristics in the legal and institutional framework -- how
laws are drafted and developed, what they rule, how they are
implemented and enforced, and how conflicts are resolved.
The new government has an unprecedented opportunity to resolve
these problems. Indeed, many initiatives are already underway.
Law No. 23 on Regional Autonomy, issued this year -- a revision
of the new Law No. 23, 1999 -- preserves the ruling on the
regional sea delimitations of 12 miles (19.2 kilometers) seaward
from the shoreline for provinces, and four miles seaward from the
shoreline for districts and municipalities.
However, regional governments desperately need guidance on how
to manage these near-shore waters, with central oversight to
ensure integration across jurisdictions.
The newly enacted fisheries law -- as a replacement to Law No.
9/1985 -- also provides significant steps in the right direction.
It establishes an administrative court for resolving fisheries
disputes, an alternative to a challenged judiciary system. It
also consolidates marine conservation efforts -- formerly under
the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Forestry -- into the Ministry
of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. The two ministries must work
on ensuring a smooth transition of this authority, and the
maritime affairs and fisheries ministry must be prepared to
assume effective leadership.
There is also a draft law on coastal management that is still
pending. The maritime affairs and fisheries ministry initiated
the effort in late 2000, and the bill's enactment will provide
legal umbrellas in ensuring integrated coastal management in
Indonesia.
The draft law clarifies many aspects of coastal management.
For example, it provides for coastal planning, setbacks and
zoning, mitigation of coastal hazards, and the permits of certain
activities affecting coastal resources, which is still not
regulated until now.
Most importantly, the draft law on coastal management provides
for a voluntary, incentive-based framework in which regional
governments would receive technical and financial assistance if
they were to abide by minimum performance standards identified by
the central government. Without any preconditions, regional
governments could seek accreditation from the central government
for establishing a coastal-management program that accommodates
national priorities, meets local needs, and fulfills the goals of
integrated coastal management.
In exchange, they would receive a package of incentives and
assistance. This approach would not only boost the effectiveness
of regional autonomy, but is also consistent with the world's
best practices in coastal management, as applied by a number of
coastal nations and as recommended by many multilateral agencies,
including the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (Unesco) and the UN's Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO).
The President needs to approve this draft law before it can be
referred to the House of Representatives (DPR), and Indonesian
lawmakers should waste no time in holding hearings and enacting
this vital piece of legislation.
The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, under its two
previous ministers, has done an admirable job, but its mission
should be strengthened. At the same time, the Indonesian Maritime
Board, which is nominally headed by the President of Indonesia
and charged with coordinating the sectoral ministries, until now
has been largely ineffectual and pitifully under-utilized. It
must be imbued with new life.
The writer serves as Senior Legal Advisor for the Coastal
Resources Management Project II (Mitra Pesisir). He can be
reached at jason@yourearth.net.