Indonesia: New Program Gives Communities Rights To Manage Critical Coral Reefs
Contacts:
In Washington:
Melissa Fossberg
Tel: 202- 458-4145
mfossberg@worldbank.org
In Jakarta: Agnes Cusack
Tel: (62-21 5299-3084
acusack@worldbank.org

WASHINGTON, May 25, 2004 – For the first time, through an innovative and long term program, coastal communities in Indonesia will have the legal rights to co-manage the ecology of the country’s delicate coral reefs, which they depend on for their livelihoods.

The second phase of the Coral Reef Rehabilitation and Management Project (COREMAP Phase II), financed by a combined $63.7 million in loans and grants from the World Bank and Global Environment Facility, places communities at the center of coral reef management, providing them the legal rights to manage the use of the reefs along side their local governments.

Communities who get their livelihoods from fishing the coastal areas of Indonesia, the largest archipelago in the world, often use destructive methods like cyanide and bomb fishing to increase their catches. Because these practices ultimately destroy the reefs which are essential to sustaining fish populations, prospects for future income from fishing will diminish over time.

It is estimated that more than half of the reefs in Indonesia are threatened specifically from destructive fishing practices. Healthy coral reef ecosystems can annually produce marine products worth an average of US$15,000 per square kilometer, and are an important source of food and livelihoods for roughly 9,969 coastal villages across the country, many of whom are poor.

The COREMAP project aims to change this behavior in 400 communities to more environmentally friendly practices that help preserve the reefs and sustain the fish populations. More than half of the people in these communities are living below the poverty line and depend on the reefs for food.

“What we are trying to do with this project is to create management systems that help restore the health of coral reef fisheries to improve the income of coastal communities and to build their ability to manage these resources for the future,” said Mr. Pawan Patil, the Senior Economist in charge of the project. “It is our hope, that by making sure that communities have a legal role in managing this important resource, that this project will make a difference over the long term, with people seeing higher and more stable income coming from the effective management of the coral reefs.”

As some rare forms of corals and fish are only found among Indonesia’s 2.6 million hectares of coral reefs, the reefs are important to preserving the diverse mix of species in the world. Indonesia’s coral reefs make up 25 percent of the reefs in the region, and 8 percent of the world’s coral reefs.

Key to making this happen has been the Indonesian Government decision to have the reefs jointly managed by local government authorities and communities, which they are now in the process of making into law.

The project is the second phase of a three-phase loan, which is co-financed by a $33.2 million loan, a $23 million interest-free credit, and a $7.5 million grant from the Global Environment Facility, which provides grant funds for projects that protect the environment. COREMAP also marks the first time a developing country has initiated such a long-term program.

“With this project, Indonesia is now viewed as an emerging leader among developing countries in the global effort to conserve and protect its oceans and seas, by implementing the recommendations of the last World Summit on Sustainable Development,” Mr. Patil added.

The project also supports small and medium-sized companies in the area to generate more income for local fishers, link them to new markets, and to provide important incentives for leaving destructive fishing practices behind. For example, the project supports a partnership with the International Finance Corporation’s new project development facility in Indonesia to focus on growing seaweed.

Another innovation is that the project supports a new system of coral reef management at the national level where a single coordinating body would handle the country’s national effort to manage its coral reefs. At the local level, a multi-stakeholder board is responsible for ensuring the transparent use of all funds flowing into the district to assist coastal communities.

Finally, this project builds on the community-driven development approach to empower communities to make decisions and improve their abilities to make decisions to manage and monitor local funds and projects.

For more information on the World Bank’s work in Indonesia,
visit our website at http://www.worldbank.org/id.