The transference of marine protected area management authority in Indonesia: Problems encountered, consequences and ways to move forward

Abstract

Indonesia has adopted the establishment of regional (sub-national) marine protected areas (RMPAs) as a key strategy for achieving ambitious national marine spatial management targets. Under Act No. 32 of 2004, regency governments were given a mandate to autonomously manage marine resources, including RMPA establishment and management. Under the direction of these local governments, management strategies established through a co-management framework were providing good management systems in terms of personnel capacity, financing and monitoring. However, in 2014 the authority of the regency governments was revoked and transferred to the provincial governments under Act No. 23 of 2014. To date, the authority transference process is still incomplete for many of Indonesia’s RMPAs. This paper identifies and analyses the problems faced by regency and provincial governments in undertaking this transition process using case studies from South Sulawesi Province and South-East Sulawesi Province. Problems identified at the local scale include limited funds, limited number and capacity of personnel and a strong sense of ownership of regency governments towards their assets. These hamper management, asset and document transfer, and zoning processes. The transfer of management authority has also severed partnerships with local communities previously playing important roles in RMPA management. At national scale, we found the national government has paid little attention to the problems occurring in the provinces and regencies. A strong willingness from the provincial and regency governments to co-manage the RMPAs is arguably vital and can become the point of departure for creating authority-sharing models that work under the new legal framework.