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FORMOSA NEWS - Bengkulu - Coastal spatial planning policies in Bengkulu Province systematically prioritize large-scale investments and economic expansion over the rights of indigenous communities and traditional fishers. This critical structural imbalance disrupts local marine ecosystems and deepens social inequality. This reality was revealed in a comprehensive environmental study published in June 2026 by researchers Erwin Basrin and Pramasty Ayu Kusdinar from the Akar Global Inisiatif Bengkulu. Based on extensive field investigations conducted from 2023 to 2025, the study demonstrates that official spatial planning instruments such as the Regional Spatial Plan (RTRW) and the Coastal Zoning Plan (RZWP3K) have been distorted to favor capital accumulation rather than ecological justice. This research is vital because it exposes the structural roots of maritime conflicts and introduces a democratic community-based model to protect vulnerable coastal populations in Indonesia.
The Spatial Battleground on the Bengkulu Coast
Marine and coastal areas are strategic common-pool resources meant to serve as vital ecological buffers and shared spaces for local livelihoods. Globally, over exploitation and rapid economic development heavily threaten these fragile environments. In developing countries like Indonesia, this manifests as intense spatial competition where state policies favor industrial commercialization over local community rights. According to the research by research, the coast of Bengkulu has become a tense arena of social and ecological confrontation. Traditional small-scale fishers face severe, overlapping threats that jeopardize their survival:
Simple and Rigorous Field Methodology
To capture these complex power dynamics, this research implemented a qualitative multiple-case study design. The field observations and data collection spanned more than two years, from January 2023 to September 2025. The researchers focused on three specific areas reflecting diverse local conditions: Enggano Island, Pasar Seluma, and the villages of Linau and Merpas. The methodology integrated several reliable data streams:
Key Research Findings: Ideology vs. Reality
The fieldwork executed by Erwin Basrin and Pramasty Ayu Kusdinar exposes severe institutional deficiencies where statutory protections consistently bend to accommodate industrial capital.
The Spatial Battleground on the Bengkulu Coast
Marine and coastal areas are strategic common-pool resources meant to serve as vital ecological buffers and shared spaces for local livelihoods. Globally, over exploitation and rapid economic development heavily threaten these fragile environments. In developing countries like Indonesia, this manifests as intense spatial competition where state policies favor industrial commercialization over local community rights. According to the research by research, the coast of Bengkulu has become a tense arena of social and ecological confrontation. Traditional small-scale fishers face severe, overlapping threats that jeopardize their survival:
- Trawl Fleet Incursions: Large-scale commercial trawl vessels routinely invade traditional fishing zones, destroying marine habitats and directly undermining the daily catch of small-scale fishers.
- Upstream Industrial Pollution: Mining activities within local watersheds cause massive sedimentation and chemical discharge, flowing directly down to contaminate sensitive coastal ecosystems.
- Mangrove Conversion: Huts of protective mangrove forests are cleared and converted into commercial shrimp ponds and infrastructure development, breaking critical ecological chains.
Simple and Rigorous Field Methodology
To capture these complex power dynamics, this research implemented a qualitative multiple-case study design. The field observations and data collection spanned more than two years, from January 2023 to September 2025. The researchers focused on three specific areas reflecting diverse local conditions: Enggano Island, Pasar Seluma, and the villages of Linau and Merpas. The methodology integrated several reliable data streams:
- Extensive Interviews: The researchers conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with 47 key informants, including 23 traditional fishers, 6 traditional leaders, 5 local officials, 4 representatives from the Marine and Fisheries Service, 3 forestry officers, and 6 civil society activists.
- Focus Group Discussions (FGDs): Six thorough focus groups were executed across the locations, involving between 12 and 18 participants per session to validate community accounts.
- Policy and Document Analysis: Official provincial zoning documents (RZWP3K 2020-2040), regional spatial plans, and corporate fishing permits were scrutinized to evaluate legislative priorities.
Key Research Findings: Ideology vs. Reality
The fieldwork executed by Erwin Basrin and Pramasty Ayu Kusdinar exposes severe institutional deficiencies where statutory protections consistently bend to accommodate industrial capital.
- Enggano Island: Unrecognized Customary Rights. The indigenous population of Enggano Island utilizes deep-rooted traditional systems to regulate fishing schedules, restrict destructive gear, and zone local waters. However, the state’s formal RZWP3K framework fails to legally recognize these marine tenure rights. Labeling Enggano's waters as a "public use area" allows external, destructive vessels to legally plunder local resources, triggering deep spatial injustice.
- Pasar Seluma: Administrative Dispossession. In Pasar Seluma, open conflict rages between small-scale fishers and predatory trawl fleets. The research reveals that the state's formal licensing systems function as tools of "accumulation by dispossession". By granting administrative permits to capital-intensive ships, the government effectively privatizes common waters, pushing traditional fishers out of their historical territory.
- Linau and Merpas: Layered Ecological Degradation. The villages of Linau and Merpas face combined environmental assaults from shrimp pond expansions, household pollution, and upstream mining runoff. Despite these pressures, local fishing groups demonstrate remarkable resilience by setting up voluntary community patrols and reporting illegal trawlers to village authorities. However, their localized enforcement lacks formal backing from state legal institutions.
Ultimately, the study proves that public participation in regional planning is merely ceremonial. Local fishers are treated as passive objects of administrative briefings rather than actual active right-holders.
Real-World Impact and Policy Recommendations
To fix this broken governance structure, the study by Akar Global Inisiatif Bengkulu insists on a complete overhaul of coastal resource allocation. The authors present a Community-Based Marine Management (CBMM) model designed to re-establish social and ecological equity. Policymakers and regional authorities can apply this research through three clear interventions:
Legalization of Marine Tenure: Regional governments must reform RZWP3K documents to legally protect and formalize traditional fishing grounds and indigenous maritime borders.
Establishment of Customary Sea Councils: Creating co-management institutions that give traditional leaders, local fishers, and scientists the shared legal power to grant or deny business permits and enforce seasonal bans.
Sustainable Economic Diversification: Encouraging community-controlled fisheries cooperatives, turtle conservation initiatives, and eco-tourism to shield small fishers from corporate market pressures.
Author Profiles
Erwin Basrin is the director and lead researcher at Akar Global Inisiatif Bengkulu. He specializes in political ecology, natural resource governance, and rights advocacy for indigenous coastal communities.
Pramasty Ayu Kusdinar is a research associate at Akar Global Inisiatif Bengkulu. Her academic focus centers on environmental sociology, spatial justice, and participatory community mapping across Indonesian small islands.
Real-World Impact and Policy Recommendations
To fix this broken governance structure, the study by Akar Global Inisiatif Bengkulu insists on a complete overhaul of coastal resource allocation. The authors present a Community-Based Marine Management (CBMM) model designed to re-establish social and ecological equity. Policymakers and regional authorities can apply this research through three clear interventions:
Legalization of Marine Tenure: Regional governments must reform RZWP3K documents to legally protect and formalize traditional fishing grounds and indigenous maritime borders.
Establishment of Customary Sea Councils: Creating co-management institutions that give traditional leaders, local fishers, and scientists the shared legal power to grant or deny business permits and enforce seasonal bans.
Sustainable Economic Diversification: Encouraging community-controlled fisheries cooperatives, turtle conservation initiatives, and eco-tourism to shield small fishers from corporate market pressures.
Author Profiles
Erwin Basrin is the director and lead researcher at Akar Global Inisiatif Bengkulu. He specializes in political ecology, natural resource governance, and rights advocacy for indigenous coastal communities.
Pramasty Ayu Kusdinar is a research associate at Akar Global Inisiatif Bengkulu. Her academic focus centers on environmental sociology, spatial justice, and participatory community mapping across Indonesian small islands.
Source
Erwin Basrin & Pramasty Ayu Kusdinar. Managing the Ocean as a Shared Resource: The Transition from the Tragedy of the Commons to Community-Based Governance in the Bengkulu Coast. Formosa Journal of Sustainable Research (FJSR). Vol. 5, No. 6, Hal. 429-448
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