Bali KKP Network

The Provincial Regulation No. 16 of the Year 2009 on the Spatial Planning of the Province of Bali for the Year 2009 – 2029 implicitly considered the Province as one integrated ecosystem of an ‘islet’ (even though Bali does not meet the Indonesian legal definition of an ‘Islet’) that consists of terrestrial, marine and aerial spaces, and therefore the Island should be managed based upon the principle of “One Island, One Plan and One Management.” One of the objectives was to implement an integrated management of spatial utilisation both in the provincial and regency/municipal level, in order to protect and prevent the negative impacts of development towards Bali’s environment and Balinese culture.

One of the impacts of decentralisation (which efforts started in 1999) in Indonesia is the lack of coordination between, and amongst, each levels of the government (Central, Provincial, Regency/Municipality). Several unconformities between local governments encompasses from licensing, utilisation, to supervision. In the context of managing Kawasan Konservasi Perairan or KKP (the commonly known term of ‘Marine Protected Area’ or MPA is partially suitable to describe the legal term of KKP in Indonesia. Click here for further explanation regarding definitions of ‘KKP’), the urgency of a KKP Network in Bali as a medium for each regency/municipality in Bali to align all the related efforts, has become inevitable.

According to IUCN-WCPA (World Commission on Protected Areas of the International Union for Conservation of Natures), an MPA Network is “A collection of individual MPA(s) or reserves operating cooperatively and synergistically, at various spatial scales, and with a range of protection levels that are designed to meet objectives that a single reserves cannot achieve.” NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) added that a properly designed MPA Network may contribute in managing significant spatial connections to preserve the process and connectivity of the ecosystems, reducing the risks upon the occurrence of local disasters, anticipate the impacts of climate change, failure in management, and other contextual issues.

Article 19 of Central Government Regulation No. 60 of the Year 2007 briefly described a network of KKP(s), which can be established in various levels (local, national, regional or even global) based upon the biophysics interconnectivity between several aquatic areas. Both local and national-level KKP Network emphasises the cooperation between the management unit of KKP(s), while in the levels of region and global will need state-level cooperation.

A KKP Network may add valuable values comparing to individual KKP(s) because: 1) A KKP Network implement an integrated efforts to protect resources, ecosystems and habitats; and 2) A KKP Network encourages an equal distribution of capacity and management. A network of KKP(s) is established based upon scientific evidences from the perspective of oceanography, limnology, bio-ecology of fisheries, to environment resiliency, which all, or some of them shows biophysics connectivity between several individual KKP(s). A KKP Network can also be established based upon the connectivity between the aspects of social and cultural, economy, and/or governance.

The objective of Bali KKP Network in general is to braid the cooperation between the KKP(s) within the Province of Bali in order to implement a more effective, efficient, comprehensive and sustainable management of KKP. With the existence of Bali KKP Network, it is expected that each KKP(s) will not only be able to reduce the possibilities of interregional conflicts, but also to strengthen each area’s abilities in facing issues and challenges that may differ from one and another. Parties involved in Bali KKP Network is distinguished in to five principal functions: Decision Makers; Scientific Study; Spatial Planning; Capacity Building; and Sustainable Financing.

There are seven potential areas in Bali, and two existing protected areas (Bali Barat National Park, and Lake Buyan and Tamblingan Natural Park), that are prioritized to be developed and included in to the Bali KKP Network. Those aforementioned areas were determined based on spatial pattern for protected areas as described in the Bali’s Spatial Planning, and was strengthened through several discussions and studies conducted across the Island. Through the proposed-initiatives of KKP in the Regency of Buleleng, Regency of Karangasem, Nusa Penida in Regency of Klungkung, Regency of Badung, Regency of Jembrana, Municipality of Denpasar, Lake Batur in the Regency of Bangli, plus the two existing protected areas, it is expected that those prioritized areas would represent the characteristic of the ecosystem in Bali.

The development of Bali KKP Network formally initiated through a Memorandum of Understanding Regarding the Establishment of Bali KKP Network, ratified by all the Heads of Marine and Fisheries Agencies in the provincial and regency/municipal level within the Province of Bali. The MoU was later followed by Gubernatorial Decree No. 1590/03-J/HK/2013 on the Establishment and Composition of Work Group on KKP Network in the Province of Bali.

Vision and Mission of Bali KKP Network (Draft on Bali KKP Network Blueprint)

Vision

“The creation of harmony and synergy between the central government, provincial government, and regency government in the management of aquatic resources of Bali, with firm support and participation of the community and other institutions, for the sustainable enhancement of the social, economic and cultural benefits of the aquatic resources.”

Mission

1. Developing commitment/consensus between stakeholders in the integrated management of aquatic resources to create sustainable development;
2. Providing documents as reference in developing aquatic (marine and terrestrial water) protected areas in the level of Regency/Municipality and Province, with an approach of connectivity of ecology, social economy and governance;
3. Encouraging cooperation, partnership and coordination that is intergovernmental, intersections and inter-stakeholder in the management of Bali’s aquatic resources.