Marine Conservation Evidence

Indonesia’s 10-year mpa vision

In 2009, the Government of Indonesia (GOI) set an ambitious target to protect 20 million ha of marine areas by 2020. Nearly a decade later, at the 2018 Our Oceans Conference in Bali, the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF) announced that Indonesia had reached this target and was setting a new one. The new target is two-part:

(1) ensure 20 million ha of MPAs are effectively and equitably managed; and

(2) expand MPA area coverage to 30 million ha by 2030

As a result of the announcement, in October 2018, a workshop of NGOs partners [World Wildlife Fund (WWF-US and WWF-Indonesia), Coral Triangle Center (CTC), Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Conservation International (CI), Rare, and The Nature Conservancy (TNC] and MMAF was held to identify areas of collaboration and opportunity towards building a 10-year vision for MPAs in Indonesia. The group identified a need to improve and facilitate coordination and planning among NGOs and key government partners in order to develop this vision, resulting in an intensive, two-year process to identify areas of collective and separate action, develop key products, and build communication and learning among partners - all of which will set the stage for long-term collaboration and improved outcomes for all organizations.

Its two objectives were to 1) analyze the status and trends of MPAs in Indonesia and identify existing MPAs and potential areas for new MPA establishment as well as 2) develop a shared 10-year MPA vision and roadmap. These outputs are to help achieve the long-term outcome that by 2030, Indonesia’s MPA network will serve as a globally relevant example of collaboration leading to significant achievement in establishing and effectively managing MPAs, benefitting thousands of coastal communities.

OUTPUT 1: Management of Marine Protected Areas in Indonesia: Status and Challenges (MPA Science report)

This report analyzes the status and trends of MPAs in Indonesia and identifies challenges and opportunities for the future to inform the MPA vision Roadmap. The science report provides an up-to-date, comprehensive overview of MPA social and ecological conditions; MPA governance frameworks and legal instruments; opportunities for improving sustainable fisheries management within MPAs; the role of communities in MPA management; identification of important knowledge and practice gaps across the current MPA network; recommendations for improving management of existing MPAs;  and potential areas for new MPAs. In addition to informing development of Indonesia’s 10-year vision for MPAs and associated Roadmap, this report also provided a status-check for achieving existing 2020 MPA national targets.

The report was authored by 85 experts, including NGO scientists, MMAF staff, community group representatives, and Indonesian and international academics. The report also includes case studies contributed by NGOs from across Indonesia to showcase best-practice examples from individual MPAs or highlight specific challenges that have been encountered and potential solutions. These case studies also served as a mechanism to substantially increase ‘buy in’ to the MPA vision process, as it provided a formal way for partners to document and share key learnings.  This report builds on previous collaborative efforts across NGOs and government to bring together updated, comprehensive data on MPAs in the country.

The report contains 12 chapters across four overarching sections: MPA Governance, Implementation and Progress Towards National Targets, Balancing Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Use, and Building the MPA Network—New Threats and Approaches to Improve Outcomes. The report involved 85 authors from NGOs, academia, government, community group representatives.

Key highlights include:

●      300 protected areas include marine ecosystems in Indonesia (196 formally recognized as MPAs); 23.9 million ha; 7.3% Indonesian waters protected

●      More than 30% of mapped coral reefs and seagrass reside within MPAs; mangrove protection is low. Less than 1% of mangroves, 7% of seagrass, and 7% of coral reefs are within non-extractive areas.

●      The majority of MPAs (managed by MMAF; n=148 with management effectiveness data) are at the “initiation” level (57%; n=70); 23% (n=28) are at the “established” level, and 20% (n=24) are at the “minimally managed” level. No MPAs have reached the “optimal management” level.

●      MPAs are distributed across 11 Fisheries Management Areas (FMAs), the primary management unit of MMAF to manage fisheries activities for medium and large fishing variables. MPA coverage per FMA is highly variable, but there is much scope for MPA expansion, as the greatest coverage in a singular FMA is 7.72% (small coverage likely due to coastal proximity). Several FMAs include over 50% of coral reefs within MPAs (n=4) while others have as little as 5% of reefs in MPAs.

●      100 potential Other Effective Conservation Measures (OECMs) in Indonesia were identified that fall within the potential Indonesian marine OECM-IUCN framework, including nine different forms of traditionally-managed areas. The potential OECMs are widespread, with managed areas for fisheries (52%) commonly located in the Java Sea, customary/ community- managed areas (19%) in eastern Indonesia, and managed areas for marine tourism (29%) scattered across the country.

●       The first country-level assessment using The MPA Guide framework, 40 MPAs had sufficient data to assign both “Stage of Establishment” and “Level of Protection” components, representing 57.4% of total MPA area in Indonesia, with the largest area in “Actively Managed”, “Minimally Protected” zones (34% of MPA area).

●      Adaptive management and inclusion of indigenous/community voices in decision-making are two integral components for effective MPAs.

output 2: MPA Vision 2030 and Roadmap to MPA Management ̶ Securing 10% of marine waters in Indonesia towards biodiversity protection and sustainable use (Vision document)

The Vision and Roadmap document includes strategies to strengthen MPA management, including scaling community-based management approaches (e.g. Locally Managed Marine Areas [LMMAs] or Territorial Use Rights in Fisheries [TURFs]) to contribute towards more equitable and effectively management MPAs, approaches to aligning MPA governance and fisheries management, and proposed financial mechanisms to ensure sustainability of MPAs over the long term. The Vision document adheres to four main principles:

●      Recognizes the importance of government leadership, inter-governmental collaboration and coordination of efforts alongside support organizations/NGOs.

●      Recognizes existing and proposed legal frameworks for MPAs, as well as existing jurisdictional authority (national and provincial) and existing practicable mechanisms for site-based governance (district engagement, community collaboration etc.).

●      Recognizes this product as a shared vision and roadmap that has been jointly developed between government and NGOs, to be embraced and utilized by all parties.

●      Promotes, supports and encourages all parties to work in a coordinated and collaborative fashion to support the management objectives and timelines contained therein.

The process for developing this shared vision involved more than 1,400 participants from October 2018 to August 2020 across 30 workshops, high-level meetings, and focus group discussions, with committed and active multi-institutional input with involved representatives from six directorates/sub-directorates and five affiliate agencies of MMAF, representatives from the Ministry of Home Affairs (and sub-agencies) and Ministry of Finance (and sub-bodies), and of course representatives from the NGO partners including WWF-Indonesia, Coral Triangle Center (CTC), The Nature Conservancy (TNC/YKAN), Rare, Terangi, and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). See Appendix 1 in the report (p. 150) for the detailed outline of events around this process.

These stakeholders identified seven Areas of Work (AoW) for progress towards achieving the national vision (see below). Each AoW explores the Present Condition (current status/challenges to address), Expected Condition (desired status/ desired destination), Strategy Required & Key Stakeholders for Implementation (what needs to be done and by whom), and the Roadmap (timeline).

1)      Integrated Central and Regional Program Planning and Funding

2)      Human Resources, Competencies & Capacity

3)      Legal & Regulatory Frameworks

4)      Sustainable Use in MPAs

5)      Sustainable Financing for MPAs

6)      Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs)

7)      MPA Communications and Outreach Platform

Despite COVID-19-related challenges and others, extensive consultations with specific ministries led to a thoroughly developed Vision. With strong ownership and participation by MMAF, the dedicated AoW teams were highly effective in providing the detailed content required; cross-sector representation enabled optimal multi-agency buy-in and MPA targets in associated government agencies. The Vision is linked with targets of Indonesia’s National Development Plan related to conservation under The Ministry of National Development Planning (BAPPENAS).

The Vision was officially launched in December 2021 at a national workshop on effective conservation for a sustainable ocean, focused on the launch of management tools.

There are several opportunities to begin applying key insights and engaging with leading initiatives; the roadmap provides guidance for mid-term strategic plans; will help mobilize budget and new regulations (e.g. UU 11/2020  and PP No. 27, 2021 regarding marine and fisheries sector governance), and provides a method of engaging on MPAs with other ministries. It also provides a centralized work plan for partners, and prioritization framework for donors. Several AoW targets and indicators have already been adopted and used as key performance indicators for 2021-2022, including the MPA personnel competency target for 36 priority MPAs. Next steps will include prioritizing activities in the Roadmap, sharing the Vision with Indonesian stakeholders, and formalizing a National Conservation Committee as a core/coordination team to supervise implementation of the Vision.

See reports here: