Indonesia-UK Cooperation to Strengthen Marine Conservation
Photo: Andika Christian di Unsplash.
Oceans are crucial for supporting life on Earth and a source of livelihood for millions of people globally. However, human activities have caused significant ocean degradation, including in Indonesia, underscoring the urgency for marine conservation efforts. In this light, Indonesia is cooperating with the UK to improve the quality of marine conservation area management.
Ocean Degradation
From food to transportation, we depend on the ocean to support various sectors. Unfortunately, irresponsible human activities have damaged and degraded oceans, threatening the lives of coastal communities and millions of others who depend on them.
One of the main issues is Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing. In Indonesia, this is exacerbated by poor management, as shown by the IUU Fishing Index 2023. The country also struggles with the rampant poaching of marine biodiversity, such as sharks, rays, and turtles.
Additionally, Indonesia’s marine pollution is a mounting problem. In 2022, around 398,000 tons of plastic waste ended up in the ocean. Other issues include the degradation of coral reefs, seagrass, and mangrove forests; oil spills and mining waste disposal; and climate change, which has caused increasing temperatures, rising sea levels, and changing weather patterns that affect biodiversity and fishermen’s livelihoods.
Blue Planet Fund Country Plan
Indonesia and the United Kingdom team up to improve the quality of marine conservation area management through the Blue Planet Fund Country Plan project. Launched in Jakarta on January 21, 2025, the project focuses on increasing public capacity and participation and strengthening conservation data and information systems.
The £500 million Blue Planet Fund (BPF) project was launched by the UK as part of a global effort to protect and improve marine ecosystems in six priority regions through conservation and sustainable management of marine resources. The BFP has several priority areas, including marine protected areas, sustainable aquaculture, and critical marine habitats for coastal resilience.
One of the main BFP programs in Indonesia is the Climate and Ocean Adaptation and Sustainable Transition (COAST). The COAST program is designed to address the challenges of declining biodiversity while addressing the impacts of climate change. Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Mozambique are among the priority countries for this program’s implementation.
“Management of conservation areas is important to be carried out together because it is related to the absorption of carbon emissions, which are the main trigger for climate change,” said Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Sakti Wahyu Trenggono.
Expanding Marine Conservation Areas
Indonesia has established a Blue Economy policy with five main priorities, one of which is expanding conservation areas. With this plan, Indonesia plans to protect 10% of marine areas by 2030 and 30% or around 97.5 million hectares by 2045.
To expand marine conservation areas and ensure effective management, Indonesia is implementing three strategies, namely:
- Integrating 30% of marine conservation areas into long-term development concept plans and national and regional marine spatial plans.
- Strengthening regulations for marine conservation area management.
- Developing the Marine Conservation Area Vision 2045 document.
Improving Coastal Community Welfare
Ultimately, expanding marine conservation areas must be done in tandem with efforts to improve the welfare of small fishermen and coastal communities. This is becoming increasingly urgent, considering many of them ironically live in poverty despite playing an essential role in marine conservation efforts. All the policies that support sustainable ocean development must not leave them behind.
Translator: Kresentia Madina
The original version of this article is published in Indonesian at Green Network Asia – Indonesia.
Abul Muamar
Amar is the Manager of Indonesian Digital Publications at Green Network Asia. He holds a Master’s degree in Philosophy from Universitas Gadjah Mada and a Bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies from Universitas Sumatera Utara. He has over ten years of professional experience in journalism as a reporter and editor for several national-level media companies in Indonesia. He is also a writer, editor, and translator with a particular interest in socio-economic and environmental issues.
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