Indonesia consists of 17,000 tropical islands between the Indian and Pacific Ocean in Southeast Asia.1 The total combined area of the islands is 1,904,569 km2 (1,811,569 km2 of land and 93,000 km2 of water) with a total of 54,716 km of coastline.1 Only 990 of the islands are permanently inhabited.2 The rural population is almost half of the total population and there are a variety of ethnic, cultural and religious groups1. Ethnic groups include the Javanese (40.6%), Sundanese (15%), Madurese (3.3%), Minangkabau (2.7%), Betawi (2.4%), Bugis (2.4%), Banten (2%) and Banjar (1.7%).1 Indonesia is one of the world’s biologically “megadiverse” countries and is home to two of world’s biodiversity “hotpsots”, 18 World Wildlife Fund’s “Global 200” eco-regions and 24 of Bird Life International’s “Endemic Bird Areas.”2 It also has the highest number of mammals, palms and swallowtail butterflies in the world.2 In addition to tropical wildlife, Indonesia is also important for its corals and reef-associated flora and fauna.2 Indonesia has approximately 42,000 km2 of coral reefs and 38,000 km2 of mangroves and is home to many endangered marine species, including dugongs, turtles, whales and dolphins.3 There are also a variety of fish, algal and seagrass species in Indonesia.3
Deforestation and water pollution from industrial wastes are among the major threats to biodiversity1. There are 50 national parks in Indonesia, and although the indigenous communities that live in these areas are acknowledged, there are no national laws that specifically mention ICCAs2,4. This means that, currently, the state has power and ownership of the land on which many communities live4. However, there are laws that recognise the need for local communities to use and benefit from natural resources4. Indonesia also recognises the importance of local knowledge and traditional conservation management methods5. An example of traditional conservation is being carried out in the Lubuk Larangan (river protected area) system by the Mandailing people5. The monitoring of conservation is carried out by the community living near the river and applies to all people who interact with the river5.
1. The World Fact Book, Asia, Indonesia https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/id.html, Accessed: 12/09/2010.
2. Convention on Biological Diversity, Country Profiles – Indonesia, http://www.cbd.int/countries/?country=id, Accessed: 12/09/2010.
3. Uychiaoco, J.; Cheung, C. (2002) Marine protected areas in Southeast Asia – Indonesia. ASEAN Regional Centre for Biodiversity Conservation, Department of Environmental and Natural Resoucres, Los Banos, Philippines, 32-
4. Morris J. (2006) Indoensia Legal Survey, http://www.iccaforum.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=84&Itemid=100, Accessed: 13/09/2010.
5. Ferrari, M. (2006) Rediscovering community-conserved areas is Southeast Asia : people’s initiative to reverse biodiversity loss, Parks, 16, 43-48