Assessment of coastal ecosystem services and its condition for policy management plan in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

Abstract

As a developing and archipelago country, Indonesia is expected to assess its coastal ecosystem services to unleash Indonesia’s coastal potential and to drive Indonesia’s economic development. With this line of reasoning, it is indeed to apply the concept of Ecosystem Services (ES) and its condition to measure how much natural potential we have in coastal ecosystems. However, there has been no comprehensive framework on how ES and its condition are holistically conducted. For that purpose, we pioneered integrated research to assess the spatial distribution of the ES (coastal protection and recreation) across districts of East Nusa Tenggara province and its condition toward habitat by applying integrated InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs) models. InVEST model would acknowledge the potential ES that is available in the coastal ecosystem and its condition. Additionally, we also suggest the form of coastal management policy in East Nusa Tenggara that needs to be applied based on the available ES data. Our result indicated that West Manggarai and Southwest Sumba have the highest and lowest ES for coastal protection and tourism services. The HRA models showed that the condition of the coastal ecosystem in West Manggarai is at moderate risk; however, most of the seagrass is at high risk. The results suggested that conservation areas in West Manggarai intensified the existing ES provided there, whereas it also brings pressures to habitat conditions. Therefore, there is indeed to achieve an ideal coastal management practice in East Nusa Tenggara. It is also needed to consider ecological, social and economic aspects and involve all government levels to establish synergistic and inclusive policies. Simultaneously, it is also notable in paying attention to each area’s carrying capacity that can affect ecological functions.