Community-government alignment for stewardship of coral reefs

Practice and research to foster community-based environmental management and co-management regularly encounters obstacles in ‘vertical’ linkages, whereby promising community initiatives are thwarted by conflicting... [ view full abstract ]

Practice and research to foster community-based environmental management and co-management regularly encounters obstacles in ‘vertical’ linkages, whereby promising community initiatives are thwarted by conflicting government regulations and policies, and in ‘horizontal’ linkages across the many ‘silos’ within governments, and inter-community relationships.   In Indonesia, fishers comprise a quarter of the nation’s poor, and 80 per cent of Indonesia’s fishing households earn incomes below the poverty line. Seventy four per cent of eastern Indonesia’s coral reefs are damaged, owing to over-exploitation, the rapid recent spread of destructive fishing practices using dynamite and cyanide, alongside pollution and environmental change. This presentation outlines a participatory diagnosis approach with the fishing communities, district and provincial governments and NGOs of Selayar, Eastern Indonesia, to build a shared understanding of the set of coastal conservation and livelihood problems and better shared commitment to address them. The participatory approach focuses on ways of aligning community governance with the efforts and responsibilities of different levels of government and NGOs. Key aspects of achieving ‘vertical’ and ‘horizontal’ alignment are (1) building networks, (2) supporting communities committed to traditional knowledge and management arrangements, (3) increasing compatibility of community and government policies, (4) assessing and dealing with inter-community conflict, (5) combining customary and science knowledge to inform conservation opportunities, and (6) recognising and fostering the social influence of ‘champions’ at community and higher levels.