Some of the issues include climate change, Illegal Unreported Unregulated (IUU) fishing and marine debris. At the previous UNOC, 14 action plans related to the conservation and sustainable use of marine resources were agreed by various parties. The question is how the action plans can be implemented effectively.

In his essay, Tragedy of the Common, Garret Hardin says that in an open natural-resources space, including the sea, people tend to compete to take as many natural resources as possible because if one person does not take it for himself, then someone else will. Hardin's hypothesis is proven.

Overexploitation of marine resources is widespread, including in Indonesian waters, with many fish stocks being exploited far beyond biological limits. For example, grouper snapper in Fisheries Management Areas (WPP) 573,711, 712, 713, 716 and 718 have exceeded the threshold, according to the Maritime and Fisheries Ministry data in 2021. There are various ways of exploitation, such as massive fishing, using destructive fishing gear that destroys marine ecosystems and coral reefs and use of poison.

One of the main causes of exploitation and destruction of marine resources is poor governance. Currently, the country’s marine governance follows a hierarchical or centralized model, in which the state is the main actor in regulating and implementing marine regulations both at the central and local levels.

This is despite the fact that the participatory marine governance approach was introduced 30 years ago. Under this model, other parties such as coastal communities, customary-law communities, fishers, village governments and the private sector take part as decision-makers in marine management.

There are several reasons why the participatory marine governance should be encouraged. First, the state has limitations to prevent individuals and groups from violating regulations.

Second, other stakeholders, including coastal communities, have contributed significantly to the management of marine ecosystems. For example, regarding the problem of near-shore fisheries, communities have their own way of solving it at the local level: for example, the sasi or harvest-fisheries management in the Maluku Islands, which has been in place for hundreds of years.

Third, participatory governance will clear the path to agreement on certain issues, which means that policy outcomes will further reflect stakeholders’ wishes more accurately, including the prevention of current spatial conflicts via the Coastal Zone and Small Islands Zoning Plan (RZWP3K), a policy that sometimes deprives fishers of their fishing right.

Fourth, locally-made rules can guarantee a higher level of compliance. Fifth, participatory governance can reduce administrative costs to ensure workability of the marine regulations.

In natural-resource management, participatory governance is nothing new in Indonesia. In the forestry sector, it has been practiced for a long time. The community, including customary-law communities, village communities and communities living around forests play a role under the social forestry scheme.

The demand for social forestry began in the early 1980s, which was followed by various field studies. In the beginning, social forestry ran counter the country’s forestry concept, which reduced forests to natural resources and closed the door to community’s involvement in land and forest management. Forests thus were seen as products, without considering their roles for human survival and biodiversity.

The utilization of social forest is adjusted to its functions, namely production and protection by providing management space (access) to the community. Currently, social forestry is an effective community-based forestry management and has significantly impacted on forest restoration.

Social forestry is now one of the flagship programs of the government, which is embodied in the Ministry of Environment and Forestry Strategic Plan 2020-2024. This effective forest governance model can be replicated in the marine sector.

There are approximately 12,827 coastal villages in Indonesia that can play an important role in the marine governance to ensure the sustainability of coastal-food sources. Based on Estradivari data in 2021, there are more than 390 potential Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECM) that can provide opportunities to increase the scope, effectiveness and inclusiveness of marine management/conservation in Indonesia.

In addition, Yayasan Pesisir Lestari (YPL) in collaboration with local organizations in 12 provinces support collaborative marine management in 45 coastal villages involving local communities, customary law communities, village governments, fisheries collectors, as well as local governments. Under this scheme, coastal communities along with other related parties are encouraged to close a fishing ground for a while so the fish have an opportunity to spawn first before being caught later. The closure is in line with efforts to protect the ecosystem that includes coral reefs. This management model has proven to positively impact on sustainability of the marine ecosystem and fishers’ income, while promoting social cohesion among fishers and reducing destructive fishing rates.

In fact, the legal framework and policies for fisheries and marine affairs in Indonesia provide an opportunity for participatory marine-resource management. Law No. 31/2004 concerning fisheries as amended by Law No. 45/2009 recognizes the existence of local wisdom that requires fisheries management to be done collaboratively with other stakeholders, especially customary-law communities.

Furthermore, Law No. 1/2014, which amended Law No. 27/2007, grants customary-law communities the right to self-regulate their own customary use of the areas they have traditionally managed. With its decision, the Constitutional Court changed the Law on Coastal Zone and Small Islands to facilitate other (non-customary) coastal communities to obtain permits.

However, despite the legal umbrella for participatory governance, there is no clear legal implementation regarding how coastal communities can manage marine resources. In addition, in the derivative regulations related to fisheries and spatial-management policies, collaborative-marine governance has not yet become a strategy. For example, to achieve the target of a marine conservation area of ​​24 million hectares in 2024, OECM is not yet included in the strategy for achieving the target.

During the UNOC, the maritime affairs and fisheries minister explained blue-economy strategies, including monitoring of IUU Fishing via satellite, the Cinta Laut program to curb marine debris and expanding marine conservation areas. However, those strategies will be difficult to realize without public participation.

Collaborative marine-governance models, such as the one in the forestry sector, need to be encouraged to achieve sustainable marine-management targets. This can start with mainstreaming participatory governance at UNOC, among other tactics, to ensure legal protection for community-based marine management, infrastructure support and empowerment programs.

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The writer is a policy advocacy and governance specialist at Yayasan Pesisir Lestari.