How Economic Change Can Empower Local Cultural Values of Coastal Ecological Sustainability: A Research on Coastal Management in Malabro Village

Every society has its own set of values which is expressed in the form of local culture. The culture forms a guideline for its members of society, setting out how to behave in order to fulfill their social and economic needs sustainably. The coastal community of Malabro Village, Teluk Segara, Bengkulu is in many ways typical example of an Indonesian coastal society with the majority of its population living on the ‘gift’ of coastal and marine resources and has developed a local culture and values focused on sustainable management of the coastal environment. Through focus group discussions and interviews with fishermen, traders of marine resources and local tourism service providers an understanding of the local culture and its valuation of the coastal environment were obtained. The community understands that the natural coastal environment includes the land adjacent the ocean which both influences and is influenced by natural marine processes. Given the importance of coastal areas for sustaining life and culture it is imperative they are sustainably managed in order to maintain the quality of resources and its values to society. These social values include spiritual, social, and physical dimensions. Spiritual value positioned the coastal environment as the work of Almighty God, which was bestowed upon humans for them to use, generating sufficient product, and for them to preserve for posterity. Social value positioned the coastal environment like a shelter and a place where people socialize and conduct cultural events. Physical value positioned the coastal environment as an economic resource; a means of providing for human needs as well as a venue for business, a source of living for family, a place to go picnic, a place to go sport, a place to hang out, a place to farm, a place to buy and sell marine products, and a place to anchor fishing vessels. These three values underpin local rules of engagement with the coastal environment as applied to the residents of Malabro Village. The rules cover the following areas: (1) ritual gratitude and charity; (2) prohibition against saying bad words when heading to the sea; (3) waste management and prohibition against household waste disposal to the beach; (4) reforestation and prohibition against cutting trees; (5) prohibition against swimming in the reef and estuary areas; (6) prohibition against picking up corals; (7) arrangement of business premises (stalls) and tourist attractions; (8) provision of communal clean water sources; (9) monthly communal work; (10) cleaning and maintaining the beach environment; (11) encouraging families to educate about waste management for their members. Keywords— local culture; coastal area; Bengkulu City