Sovereign rights over Indonesian natural resources: An archipelagic concept of rational and sustainable resource management

Abstract

This article examines the role of the concept of sovereignty over national resources in the management of resources. Resource management as opposed to resource exploitation is more desirable both for the protection of the environment and for the sustainable development of resources. It is argued that the national right over resources is an essential element in rational resources management which in turn is indispensable to carrying out a policy of sustainable development. The article first describes the Southeast Asian seas environment. Second, the article examines the regime of archipelagic waters according to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982 and its significance for the right of the management of natural resources in the Indonesian marine space. Third, utilization of living resources in the national marine space is reviewed. Fourth, the article deals with the mechanism for a rational management of non-living resources: the Kontrak Karya and production sharing systems for hard minerals and oil and gas respectively.