By: Tasrif Kartawijaya
Facilitated by WCS and the Gili Island Management Authority (BKKPN satker Gili Matra), the public consultation meetings on the draft management plan and zoning system were held at each of 10 villages in Gili Matra during February 25-27, 2013.
The meetings gathered inputs from local communities (including village leaders, tour operators, fishers, NGOs, tourism operators and youth groups) to achieve agreement on the location and regulations for each zone and community participation on surveillance.
The meetings resulted in community agreements for a zoning system for the Gili Islands, a set of three islands in Lombok that attracts over a quarter of a million tourists annually. The islands are a national priority for the national government as it transitions its authority over many MPAs from the Ministry of Forestry to the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Affairs. The project is supported by Indonesia’s national Marine Protected Area Governance program through USAID’s commitment to the Coral Triangle Initiative.