Legal Protection for Coastal and Marine Activities from Pollution of the Marine Environment

Abstract

Indonesia has potential coastal and marine resources. Community, Private sector and local government should manage and develop them. There are various activities along the coast in North Sumatera Province. This research focused on Serdang Bedagai District and Medan City. As local assets and tourism destination, the local government should ensure the sustainability of the coastal and marine resources. However, there are threats for the coastal and marine resources, namely marine pollutions. This research discusses two problems: (a) How vulnerable the coastal and marine activities are to marine pollution? (b) Is there a regulation concerning legal protection for those coastal activities? This research consists of the literature review and field research. The author interviewed the local government, coastal business manager, and community. As results, (a) None of the informant worried about the marine pollution, especially due to the sea traffic; (b) There is none regulation concerning the protection of coastal and marine activities from marine pollution. As recommendation, local and provincial department should draft a regulation concerning legal protection for coastal and marine activities in Serdang Bedagai due to the increased number of ship traffic after the operation of the Kuala Tanjung Port in North Sumatra Province.