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.