April 2011 Asia Pacific Conservation Region Marine Program Report No 3/11 Report Compiled By: April 2011 Asia Pacific Conservation Region Marine Program Report No 3/11 Report Compiled By: Acknowledgements We would like to thank the communities of Raja Ampat for sharing their knowledge and detailed information on how they use their marine resources. We are grateful to Meta Ancelino, Yohanes Goram Gaman, Ferry Liuw, and Paulus Thebu for providing field assistance and helping to conduct interviews. Peter Mous gave inputs into the original survey questionnaire and helped categorize the types of fishing gear. Alan White provided input on research questions and feedback on early drafts. This work was supported by the Dinas Kelautan dan Perikanan and Balai Besar Konservasi Sumber Daya Alam (BBKSDA) Papua Barat. This work was funded by AusAID, USAID, the David and Lucille Packard Foundation, the Schooner Foundation, and the HGH Foundation Report on a Coastal Rural Appraisal in Raja Ampat Regency, West Papua, Indonesia Contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................................ ii Contents ...............................................................................................................................................................iii Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................... iv INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................................1 METHODS ............................................................................................................................................................. 2 RESULTS FROM VILLAGE SURVEY................................................................................................... 2 Occupations ........................................................................................................................................................ 2 Number ................................................................................................................................................................. 2 Percentage ............................................................................................................................................................ 2 RESULT FROM INDIVIDUAL SURVEY .......................................................................................... 4 STATISTICAL ANALYSIS RESULTS ..................................................................................................15 DISCUSSION ..................................................................................................................................................... 18 Outsiders and Destructive Fishing Practices............................................................................................... 18 A Shifting Baseline Syndrome Among Fishers In Raja Ampat .............................................................. 19 Diverse Livelihood Strategies ......................................................................................................................... 20 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................................. 21 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................................................... 22 APPENDICES ..................................................................................................................................................... 24 Appendix 1: District Changes In Raja Ampat ............................................................................................. 24 Appendix 2: Map Of Raja Ampat .................................................................................................................. 26 iii Report on a Coastal Rural Appraisal in Raja Ampat Regency, West Papua, Indonesia Executive Summary The Raja Ampat archipelago in eastern Indonesia is a priority for national and international conservation initiatives as it contains some of the greatest known diversity of fish and coral species worldwide. It is also home to over 30,000 people, most of whom rely on marine resources for their livelihoods. We present results from a survey of residents in 88 villages of Raja Ampat about their use of marine resources. We also examine conventional wisdoms concerning marine conservation using the survey data, finding that: (i) decreases in perceived fish catch are at least partially related to the threat of outside fishers; (ii) there is a shifting baseline syndrome among fishers, with those who have fished the longest more often reporting that fish catch has declined; (iii) farming and fishing are two key elements of a common livelihood strategy. This study provides conservation managers and researchers interested in Raja Ampat with a baseline of conditions amongst the local population prior to the initiation of conservation activities in 2006. It is also relevant to wider research into marine conservation and marine resource use in coastal communities. iv Report on a Coastal Rural Appraisal in Raja Ampat Regency, West Papua, Indonesia INTRODUCTION Coral reefs are under threat worldwide from a number of anthropogenic factors and are a high priority for conservation organizations (Hughes et al. 2003, Roberts et al. 2002, Bellwood et al. 2004, Brooks et al. 2006). Coral reefs are a food and livelihood source for millions of people around the globe (UNEP 2006, FAO 2010), and in Indonesia, reefs support a significant proportion of the fish that contribute 53% of animal protein consumed (White 1986, Stobutzki et al. 2006). Indonesia’s Raja Ampat archipelago is located on the northwestern tip of West Papua Province (Appendix 2). The Archipelago is comprised of four major islands, Waigeo, Batanta, Salawati, and Misool, along with hundreds of smaller islands, such as Kofiau and Ayau, spread out over 43,000 km2. Raja Ampat contains the greatest known concentrations of hard corals and reef fish species on the planet and is consequently a priority for marine biodiversity conservation (Allen 2008, Veron et al. 2009, Allen and Erdmann 2009) and fisheries management given that over 90% of the people in Raja Ampat live in a coastal area and rely on marine resources for their food and livelihood (Amarumollo and Farid 2002). The Raja Ampat Islands became an autonomous maritime regency (kabupaten bahari) in 2003, bringing opportunities for greater local management of its rich marine resources (Varkey et al. 2010). To measure local perceptions of marine resources usage as an input to the site selection for a network of community co-managed marine protected areas, The Nature Conservancy surveyed local people in 88 of the 89 villages in Raja Ampat over 16 months beginning in November 2003. The omitted village was located inland, and the community did not directly depend on fishing. Our analysis builds on previous studies from Raja Ampat that examined traditional marine tenure systems (McLeod et al. 2009), estimated the total illegal and underreported fish catch (Varkey et al. 2010), and identified a perceived decline in marine resources used by commercial and artisanal fishers (Ainsworth et al. 2008). Prior to these studies, Conservation International and The Nature Conservancy conducted marine rapid assessments in 2001 and 2002, respectively, providing a snapshot of the biological and socioeconomic conditions in Raja Ampat (McKenna et al. 2002, Donnelly et al. 2003). Our study adds to the growing body of literature on the coastal communities and how they perceive and use their marine resources. Here we present results of the village survey and individual survey along with analysis to determine statistical relationships between key variables. We then discuss these results in the context of marine and coastal management in Raja Ampat. 1 Report on a Coastal Rural Appraisal in Raja Ampat Regency, West Papua, Indonesia METHODS From November 2003 to March 2005, The Nature Conservancy conducted two concurrent surveys across the Raja Ampat regency: one for villages and one for individuals within villages. The village survey was a structured interview with the head of the village or in a few cases another local leader. The survey gathered village demographics (population, family size, religions, ethnicities, and occupations), village infrastructure information, and marine resources patterns related to fishing activities and local livelihoods. A total of 88 villages were surveyed. The individual survey was a structured interview targeting the most knowledgeable fishers in each village. Respondents were selected in consultation with the village head or another community leader. Sometimes, the most knowledgeable fishers in a village had other primary occupations such as farming or working for the government. A total of 495 people were interviewed. Questions in the survey covered respondents’ demographic information, use of marine resources, perceived threats to the marine environment, and knowledge of conservation. Responses from the village and individual surveys were coded and combined into one dataset. The Confidence Interval is 95.6% (as per the population data from the village survey). To facilitate the analysis, the 21 fishing gear