Towards Marine Spatial Planning Implementation in Indonesia: Progress and Hindering Factors

Abstract Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) is a modern scientific approach to balancing human activities both in space and time for achieving socio-economic and environmental targets through a public process. The adoption and application of the MSP approach have been proceeding in many developing countries like Indonesia to support the sustainable use of marine and coastal areas and to reduce conflicts for multiple uses of marine resources and areas. MSP also aims to reduce environmental impacts such as pollution, overfishing and illegal fishing, watershed-based pollution and coastal development impacts. Whilst the transition process from planning to implementation is an onerous mission, this paper aims to explain and learn from the process of Indonesian MSP development and propose a policy roadmap as an action plan for the national and provincial governments of Indonesia. Input for this paper was derived from a collaborative national symposium that involved 80 participants with international experts from U.S., Canada, and Australia, together with the Indonesian government, non-government sectors, and university representatives. The themes that emerged were: overcoming implementation challenges, engaging indigenous groups, zoning considerations, communicating with stakeholders, licensing and permits, collaborative enforcement, monitoring and evaluation, and land-sea cross-sectoral mechanisms. These themes were analyzed and discussed as the key instruments for a strategic approach in the operational base of MSP for Indonesia. Hindering factors to MSP implementation included data gaps, conflict of interest among stakeholders, and the complexity of the legalization process. It was agreed that committed leadership, stakeholder involvement and buy-in are essential to support effective implementation and a truly adaptive management approach for MSP in Indonesia.