The Bunaken National Marine Park Comanagement Initiative

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The Bunaken National Marine ParkCo-management
Initiative

• Maxi Wowiling
• Bunaken National Park Management Board

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Overview of Presentation

• Background on Bunaken National Park
• Components of Co-Management Initiative and Select
  Accomplishments
• Lessons Learned / Recommendations

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Bunaken National Marine Park

• Established 1991
• 90,000 hectares, including 5 islands and North
  Sulawesi mainland (S and N sections)
• exceptionally diverse
• 22 villages inside park, 30,000 residents

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Bunaken National Park Tourism

• Well-developed marine tourism industry - 20 dive
  operators
• 25,000 guests/year
• 15,000 local Indonesian guests
• 10,000 foreign guests

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Despite national park status and significant
funding inputs,
the park has suffered a slow, continuous
degradation due to a number of threats.
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Coral mining
Diver/anchor damage
AND TRASH!!!!
Blast fishing
Cyanide fishing
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BNP Management less than optimal over past decade
due to a number of problems

• Two conflicting and unclear zonation systems
• Overlapping authorities (BTNB, local govt
  agencies)
• Local communities and private sector not
  constructively involved
• Conservation funding levels continue to decline

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Strategy for entering a new era of co-management
of BNP

• Participatory zonation revision process
• Inclusion of local communities and private sector
  in mgmt, particularly enforcement
• Creation of a multistakeholder advisory board
• Implementation of a ground-breaking entrance fee
  system for sustainable conservation financing

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Participatory Zonation Revision

• 2 conflicting zonation plans with unclear rules
  and borders
• Revision process focuses on 2 primary user groups
  (villagers and tourism sector), encouraging
  compromise in developing a multiple-use zonation
  system which accommodates current use patterns
• Strives for a minimal number of zone types, with
  easily understood functions, explicit rules, and
  well-recognized borders
• Long-term process to ensure active participation
  by all socioeconomic groups averaging 8 months
  per island
• Its working 11.3 increase in live hard coral
  cover in 2 years!

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Private Sector Involvement in Management
North Sulawesi Watersports Association
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NSWA

• Formed in 1997 with 7 operators now includes 14
  environmentally-concerned dive operators
• Supports a program of 3Es education,
  employment and enforcement
• Actively supports better management of park while
  trying to provide more direct benefits from
  tourism to local communities

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Villager Involvement in Mgmt Joint
Villager/Ranger Patrol System

• 24/7, 52 villagers and 13 rangers
• 30 station park-wide VHF radio system allows all
  villagers to help patrols as reef watchers
• While villagers not allowed to make arrests or
  carry firearms, their presence has been crucial
  (keeps the rangers honest).
• Virtual elimination of destructive fishing
  (blasting, cyaniding)
• WWF grant support

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Involvement of communities Bunaken Concerned
Citizens Forum

• Includes villagers from all 22 villages in park
• Represents villager aspirations in BNP management
  decisions via the BNPMAB, and communicates BNPMAB
  policies to constituency
• Formulates village conservation activities that
  are appropriate for specific
  village conditions

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Towards true co-management of BNP Bunaken
National Park Management Advisory Board (BNPMAB)
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BNPMAB Composition

• Multistakeholder board established by Governors
  Decree 233/2000, sworn in by Minister of
  Forestry
• 15 seats on board 8 non-governmental, 7
  governmental
• Vice Governor North Sulawesi
• 5 village representatives from Concerned
  Citizens Forum
• BTNB (Park Authority)
• WALHI (Environmental NGO)
• Tourism Dept
• Fisheries Dept
• Local University (UNSRAT)
• Private Sector (NSWA)
• Environmental agencies (city,
  district,
  province)

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Functions of BNPMAB advisory board

• Instill a sense of pride and ownership by local
  stakeholders in the conservation of BNP.
• Coordinate policies of the various government
  agencies with authority within the park.
• Support the BTNB park office in formulating and
  funding conservation programs in the park.

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BNPMAB Five Year Priorities

• Design and implement an effective entrance fee
  system
• Support the joint villager/ranger/police patrol
  system
• Institutional development of BNPMAB and
  secretariat
• Implement trash collection program on Bunaken
  Island
• Institutional development of Bunaken citizens
  forum
• Environmentally-friendly village development
  programs

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BNPMAB Conservation financing sources

• Entrance Fee System
• Grant money from international donors (WWF, NRM,
  Seacology)
• Operational/routine funding from agencies
  involved in BNPMAB

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Bunaken Entrance Fee System

• Dual system
• Foreign guests (numbered plastic tags) Rp
  150,000/year (15)
• Local guests (ticket) Rp 2500/trip (.25)
• Distribution of entrance fee revenues
• 80 BNPMABspecifically for Bunaken conservation
  programs
• 20 local government North Sulawesi, Minihasa
  district, Manado city, Jakarta

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Entrance Fee System (continued)

• In 2001, collected approximately 42,000
• Almost tripled the proceeds from 2001 with 2002
  revenues of 109,305.
• Well-accepted by tourists because money is used
  locally for visibly-effective conservation
  programs

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Select Lessons Learned

• Building informed participation of stakeholder
  groups is a long-term process, requiring
  extensive capacity building and facilitation
• Multiple-use MPA zonation plans are valuable
  management tools for mitigating conflict among
  stakeholders and balancing effective conservation
  with sustainable development

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Select Lessons Learned (cont)

• The use of focal group meetings instead of
  relying only on large village meetings is
  essential for ensuring broad-based community
  participation and especially involvement of the
  more marginalized or traditionally quiet
  community members

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Select Lessons Learned (cont)

• Villager and private sector stakeholders support
  rules and enforcement programs as long as they
  are clear, well-socialized and equitably enforced
• Involvement of the private sector in co-mgmt of
  MPAs is highly beneficial, as they readily grasp
  the importance of protecting the resources in the
  MPA on which their income depends

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Select Lessons Learned (cont)

• In the Asian context, Co-management via
  multistakeholder management boards (that include
  reps. from govt, local villagers, environmental
  NGOs, private sector, and academia) provides a
  strong system of checks and balances to prevent
  corruption and ensure that mgmt supports the
  potentially conflicting objectives of
  conservation, sustainable use of marine
  resources, villager livelihood development, and
  marine tourism development

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VIVA BUNAKEN!