The ministry is pursuing the small-scale fisheries Impact Bond, an outcome-based financing scheme involving private investors to support strengthening the economy of coastal communities while achieving national conservation and food security targets.
The ministry’s Secretary of the Directorate General of Marine and Marine Space Management, Kusdiantoro, emphasized the importance of diversifying funding schemes to ensure the sustainability of the management of Indonesia's marine ecosystems.
“Following the budget efficiency policy, we must be more creative in implementing programs, including developing alternative funding sources in managing conservation areas," he noted in a statement on Monday.
According to the secretary, innovative funding, such as Impact Bonds, allows for more targeted investment to encourage sustainable fisheries practices, improve the welfare of fishermen, and preserve marine resources.
Marine ecosystem conservation plays a strategic role in maintaining ecological balance, ensuring the sustainability of commercial fish stocks, and mitigating climate change impacts.
However, Kusdiantoro cautioned that the threats to biodiversity, declining fish stocks, and the impacts of human activities demand more innovative and sustainable conservation measures.
Currently, the Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry is targeting the protection of 30 percent of Indonesia's marine areas as conservation areas and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) by 2045.
With 29.9 million hectares of conservation area, the ministry, along with related partners, is preparing an expansion plan of up to 97.5 million hectares, as well as adding 10 million hectares of non-conservation areas as part of the OECM.
Considering the significant funding required for the program, the ministry continues to encourage alternative funding innovations, including the implementation of a debt swap for nature in cooperation with the US government, as well as the issuance of coral reef bonds with the World Bank.
The ministry’s Director of Ecosystem and Aquatic Biota Conservation, Firdaus Agung, noted that in addition to utilizing the State Budget, the government is seeking results-based investment schemes, such as Impact Bonds, cooperation with the private sector, and other green financial instruments.
He affirmed that the government’s efforts to maintain the sustainability of marine ecosystem management align with Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono's commitment to developing the marine and fisheries sector based on the blue economy principle that balances ecological and economic interests for future generations.
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Translator: Muhammad Harianto, Yashinta Difa
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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