Rapid Feasibility Assessments Potential of Public-Private Partnerships to Drive Social, Economic and Ecological Recovery in Four Regionally Important Indonesian Mangrove Systems

Blue Forests, a registered non-profit, non-governmental organization with main offices in Yogyakarta and Makassar was contracted by the USAID IFACS program to undertake rapid feasibility assessments in critical mangrove landscapes in Indonesia. Blue Forests managed a multi-disciplinary team of ecologists and social scientists, to develop a research methodology, undertake a literature review, and engage in week long field assessments in four distinct mangrove management areas including; Kubu Raya – West Kalimantan,

Mahakam Delta – East Kalimantan, Rawa Aopa Watumohai – SE Sulawesi and Bintuni Bay – West Papua. The main objective of the assessments was to determine the feasibility of the establishment of public-private partnerships to co-support management interventions including ecological rehabilitation, sustainable economic development and improved systems management, to improve the overall condition and resilience of the social-ecological mangrove system.

These assessments and their analysis, which ran from June 4 until August 10, 2015, are captured in this report in the following manner. The research methodology for all four sites is described in section 2.0 followed by a summary of the findings and analysis in section 2.1. Sections 3.0, 4.0, 5.0 and 6.0 detail the findings for each of the four landscapes individually. Each of these findings sections have been broken down per groupings of key research questions. The findings were broken down based on a) status and condition of the mangrove forest, b) social and cultural condition of local communities, c) utilization of the mangroves and adjacent resources for livelihoods and economic values, and d) governance and the role of key stakeholders.

After presentation of the findings, a series of analytical exercises were undertaken. These are captured in section 7.0. Analysis included the development of problem trees, objective trees and an options analysis. Problem and objective trees have been unified in one PDF document and presented as Appendix C due to formatting restrictions in this word document. Options analysis has been unified in an Excel document in four spreadsheets and also presented as Appendix A at the end of this document. This report also contains an Appendix B, which includes all figures and maps and is attached separately.

This report closes with a brief conclusion (Section 8.0), but also a recommendation that interested stakeholders from government and development agencies sit together after presentation of the findings and analysis and participate in a facilitated options analysis, the results of which can inform further project intervention planning.

The authors would like to thank USAID IFACS for supporting this critical activity. Critical analysis of how to move forward strategically with regards to improved mangrove management has been a missing link of both international development and national planning.