Key governance factors of integrated coastal management (ICM) at the local level, North Sulawesi, Indonesia

Abstract

This research examines key governance factors of Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) at the local level, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Measures of governance factors are developed from two approaches to determine the key factors and the perception differences among major parties for ICM sustainability. The first approach is based on a qualitative methodology for two villages: Atep Oki village and Basaan I village. Key governance factors at these two villages were assessed through interaction of social and ecological systems. The second approach combined qualitative and quantitative methods to a group of experts (government officials, NGOs/development workers and scientists). The group of experts provided further explanation of the key governance factors of ICM at the local level and placed values on the degree of importance for each factor. The research findings indicate there are nineteen key governance factors that are important for the sustainability of ICM. However, the status and urgency of the factors are different for each where they have been categorized as ‘reach’, ‘intermediary’ and ‘contradictory’ agreements. Therefore, for the two villages, leadership clearly determines the success of ICM. The role of a key person is vital for transforming ICM from a critical failure to adaptive management. The information obtained from the group of experts illustrated that the degree of importance for key governance factors is markedly different amongst government officials, NGO workers and scientists as well as villagers on the ground level. Differences in valuing key governance factors were influenced by parties’ perceptions of their roles in ICM. This, in turn, affects the way each party views the outcomes of ICM and the outcomes that follow.