Assessment of Ocean and Coastal Policy Effectiveness in Seribu Islands, Indonesia

Abstract

Indonesia is an archipelago country, consisting of five main islands (Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Papua) and 17,475 small islands (below 2,000 km2) which are isolated from the main islands. Governance, spatial planning and public participation are important factors to the promotion of sustainable development programs as part of the international agreement at the Earth Summit in 1992 known as Rio Declaration. The impact of policy changes from centralization to decentralization made the situation even more complicated in coastal areas because new laws and regulations regarding ocean and coastal areas must be proposed, deliberated and enacted by the Indonesian parliament, but not by the local governments. This paper aims to identify and assess the Indonesian policies that are implemented in ocean and coastal areas. This study is based on the spatial analysis and focused on small islands in the Seribu Islands region. From the data analysis results, it can be summarized that the Indonesian policies associated with ocean and coastal areas are only focusing on their economic revenues and seeking for the acknowledgement from international agreements or bodies. Therefore it is important that governance coordination, public acknowledgement as well as regional planning must be put to the highest priority in order to achieve the Integrated Coastal Zone Management objectives and sustainable development in ocean and coastal areas. The top-down policies enacted in the region have meant that coastal communities have not been consulted, and as a consequence, the level of their engagement with policies has been low. Decision-makers need to make public announcements about the guidelines of each new policy and provide improved access to information, so that coastal communities are aware of, and can implement, procedures to protect their environment. In addition, these communities should be involved in every development plan affecting the Seribu Islands region. To achieve this goal, public services such as inter-island transportation must be addressed appropriately, so as to support the participation of the coastal communities and enhance their access to economic activities within the region.