FISHING COMMUNITY OF TOMIA (KOMUNTO) - UNDP

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ImpactsBIODIVERSITY IMPACTSKOMUNTO has actively promoted environmental education in theregion, and leverages its resources and partnerships to encouragethe uptake of more sustainable and environmentally responsiblefishing techniques. Environmental education has, in turn, createdand fostered a shared sense of purpose to finding sustainable developmentsolutions. In 2008, all 27 member groups of KOMUNTO– a total of 418 families – drafted and signed a declaration outliningtheir shared commitment to sustainable fishing practices and rejectingthe use of techniques involving explosives and sedatives.Importantly, KOMUNTO has been instrumental in designing a revisedzoning system for Wakatobi National Park. The plan delimitsdifferent use zones within the park. Specifically, KOMUNTO was integralin identifying traditional use areas and fish aggregation sitesin need of protection. Special attention was given to the protectionof fish spawning sites and the demarcation of different zones forusers with different needs (e.g. traditional and local fishers, outsidefishers, regeneration sites etc.). KOMUNTO was successful at infusingthe zoning system – what is now the basis of sustainable fisheriesmanagement in the park – with provisions that were respectfulof traditional fishing rights, as well as considerations for managingcompetition, extraction levels, and for the appropriate use of moderntechnologies.Voluntary restrictionsThe introduction of fish banks has been an effective mechanism ofensuring conservation and sustainability. The pioneers of the fishbank approach were three self-help groups in Tomia (Potau-tau,Para-para and Lakomai). The fishers there collectively reached anagreement to abstain from fishing in these areas, effectively establishingno-take zones where damaged or degraded marine resourcescould regenerate. Additionally, the self-help groups involvedagreed to monitor and protect these no-take zones from destructivefishing practices and to report any illegal fishing to the park authority.The strategy has proven beneficial, as fish catches improved andstabilized. The fishers also observed the return of fish species suchas tuna, barracuda and trevally, which were not present for severalyears.The success demonstrated in Tomia had a domino effect acrossWakatobi National Park. Other local fishers and self-help groupshave adopted similar no-take zones and have been rewarded withequally positive results in terms of catch sizes and biodiversity. Thereare no sanctions applied in the case of transgression of regulationsset within the fish banks. Compliance is entirely voluntary, basedon a shared and cultivated understanding between fishers that, ifmembers break the rules, there will no longer be enough fish to providefor local food security and livelihoods. It is then social capital,education and trust that sustain the taboo model. The fishers’ direct6
experience of the benefits that conservation can bring, for examplein the form of increased incomes, provides further incentive for compliancewith the restrictions.Across the fish banks, local fishers report new and rejuvenated populationsof snapper, grouper, dogtooth tuna, and sea urchins. Thereturn of sea urchins is particularly promising as they had previouslybeen overharvested. The model of collective action has spilled overinto other sectors, with self-help groups forming to address mangroveconservation and reforestation – another pressing challengeconfronting the region.SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTSKOMUNTO membership is based on shared responsibilities andshared benefits. Group members participate in the financial managementof the organization through a three-tiered savings system:main savings, voluntary savings and compulsory monthly fees. Notonly do the various savings enable the organization to continueoperating, but members can access funds for a range of conservationand sustainable livelihoods needs. Drawing from this rotatingfund, a number of members have launched small-scale businessesto supplement income from fishing. Some examples have includeda savings and loan rice business, a mobile fish sales business, and asavings and loan diesel business.To support and strengthen small-scale business launched with fundsfrom KOMUNTO savings, members prioritize buying goods fromother member groups rather than with outside communities, therebyensuring a predictable and stable market for locally producedproducts. Funds are also made available for local investment needsin education, healthcare and community development projects.In addition to improved livelihoods from increased catch sizes, anddiversified income streams from small-scale businesses, fishers havebenefited from training in mariculture. KOMUNTO has developedfish mariculture programs which can be carried out directly withinnatural ecosystems, such as seaweed farming and grouper and troutfarming in floating cages.Knowledge sharing activities have also been created specifically forwomen, for example, in peer-to-peer training on the production ofabon, a popular local condiment made of fried, shredded fish.POLICY IMPACTSKOMUNTO played a key role in revising the zoning and spatial planningsystems in Wakatobi National Park. This was the first time thata zoning system in Indonesia’s National Parks was agreed upon byconsensus between national and local government and local communities.As KOMUNTO remains involved in this evolving process,its members voices are taken into consideration and they remain informedof changes and opportunities for input.At the village level, KOMUNTO members are given responsibility forthe coordination of their respective groups. Each group is affordedthe opportunity to create a work plan, which is then evaluated bythe larger organization. Informed by these work plans, KOMUNTOparticipates in village discussion commissions and works to incorporatethe perspectives and needs of traditional fishers into villagemanagement plans and resource management strategies.7
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FISHING COMMUNITY OF TOMIA (KOMUNTO) - UNDP

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