Living and fishing in a marine protected area : balancing traditional fisheries with conservation in Karimunjawa National Park, Indonesia
This research examined a few important issues related to marine protected area (MPA) management in Indonesia by looking at how MPAs are able to adapt their policies in order to better suit evolving socioeconomic and ecological conditions, what socioeconomic impacts have been felt as a result of MPA implementation, and what are the environmental subjectivities of local actors whose livelihoods are dependent on the resources that are being regulated. The livelihoods framework served as a guide when examining local socioeconomic changes in the region, while Agrawal’s concept of environmentality provided the theoretical underpinnings when examining the formation of environmental subjects in Karimunjawa National Park. This study found that the policy changes brought about in KNP’s reworked management plan are a step in the right direction, but that important goals related to park co-management were never fully realized in practice. The results also show that significant socioeconomic changes are occurring within the park, with many fishermen turning to alternative livelihoods in order to offset declining fish catches. Lastly, this study uncovered that significant positive shifts in environmental subjectivities have occurred since the re-zoning of the park, but that these have not fully translated into compliance towards the rules and regulations of the MPA.
Marine protected areas Coastal management Small-scale fisheries Co- management Coastal livelihoods Pêches destructives Destructive fishing Indonesia Karimunjawa National Park