Bappenas Along MDPI Engage Fisheries Stakeholders to Forge Inclusive Fisheries Governance
- October 14, 2025
by MDPI
The Indonesian government has taken a crucial step towards institutionalizing collaborative fisheries management across the archipelago. The Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas), in collaboration with MDPI, convened a meeting on Strengthening Governance, Institutional Revitalization, and Collaborative Policy for Inclusive Fisheries Management” in Jakarta (10/14). The move includes 47 fishery stakeholders to formally integrate provincial-level Fisheries Co-Management Committee into the national policy framework.
Bappenas Pushes Co-Management Framework for Integrated Fisheries Management
The FCMC structure, a collaborative forum encompassing government, communities, and private sector stakeholders currently operates in nine resource-rich provinces, including Maluku, North Sulawesi, and West Papua. It champions a ‘co-management’ model to safeguard Indonesia’s vast fishery resources.
Mohammad Rahmat Mulianda, Bappenas’s Director of Marine and Fisheries, emphasized that the national trajectory for fisheries management now firmly aims toward an inclusive approach. This signals a move away from centralized, top-down control toward a system that mandates collaboration among national and local governments, businesses, academics, NGOs, and, critically, the fishers themselves.
“A collaborative system invites all parties to mutually support and reinforce one another, ensuring that policy and its implementation on the ground remain in sync,” Mulianda stated, lending the agency’s full endorsement to the grassroots initiative.
Bridging the Gap for Lasting Sustainability
While all stakeholders actively participate in the FCMC’s governance, the Committee still depends on a lack of institutional funding. For seven years, it relies on limited civil society organizations’ financial resources. The roots come from the limited budgets of both state and private sectors.
A path to financial stability is emerging through the same mechanisms that drive international trade. The Indonesian Purse-Seine Association (APSI) noted that certification for crucial export markets compels companies to maintain the co-management forums. “Corporate funds can be allocated toward the needs of eco-label certification. We’re required to actively participate in co-management discussion forums,” said Heri, APSI’s representative.
Beyond financial contribution, the fight for equitable ownership remains paramount to meet all stakeholders’ needs, particularly those of small-scale fishers. “Local governments shall commit to securing resources despite regional budget constraints, for the small-scale fishers. We can formally register the budgeting into National Unity and Political Agency’s funds,” pushed Sri Haryanti Hatari, Assistant 2 of the Maluku Utara Regional Secretariat.
The Long Haul of Inclusive Management
This dialogue served as the starting line towards a more inclusive fisheries management. Significant work remains for stakeholders to fully integrate the FCMC forums into a cohesive national and regional policy framework.
“The provincial FCMCs have delivered many benefits, but they need synergy from various parties for their future sustainability. We will engage the Ministry of Home Affairs, the keyholder to full institutionalization,” said MDPI Fisheries Lead Putra Satria Timur.
The dialogue solidified a shared commitment among all involved parties to the holistic and inclusive policy framework of the Blue Economy. If successful, the full integration of these local governance forums promises to be a boon not just for the sustainability of Indonesia’s national fisheries ecosystem, but for the regional revenues that depend on them.