PKSPL IPB University Committed to Assisting the Preparation of State of the Coast Document of Demak Regency

The Centre for Coastal and Marine Resources Studies (PKSPL) of IPB University held a meeting with the Regional Development Planning, Research and Development Agency (Bappedalitbangda) of Demak Regency, Central Java, (20/6). The meeting was an implementation agenda of the Fisherfolk Empowerment for Climate Resilience and Sustainability (Focus) Programme in Demak District, Central Java Province.

Focus is a programme to empower coastal fishing communities towards climate resilience and sustainability. The programme is a collaboration between the Humanist and Social Innovation Foundation (Hivos Foundation), the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (WALHI), the People's Coalition for Fisheries Justice (KIARA) and PKSPL IPB University and is supported by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD).

Miranda as the Focus Project Manager from the Humanist and Social Innovation Foundation explained that currently the Hivos Foundation, PKSPL IPB University, KIARA and WALHI are members of a consortium related to the implementation of the Focus programme. Basically, this programme aims to enable communities to actively participate in planning, empowerment and capacity building processes related to coastal area management. 

"The Focus programme will also establish cross-sector coordination, so that it will create close coordination between stakeholders and communities related to coastal areas. In addition, the programme will support the improvement of the quality of fisheries and coastal products run by the community, including market access. Focus will also disseminate good practices from this programme in the form of lessons learned related to climate change, food and gender," Miranda said.

"The data collection currently carried out by PKSPL IPB University in Demak Regency is an initial study of the Focus programme related to the existing conditions in the coastal areas of Demak Regency. Later the study will be documented in the form of a State of the Coast (SOC) document which will be formulated by PKSPL IPB University. The SOC document will be given to the local government," Miranda continued.

Isdahartati as an expert of PKSPL IPB University added, the SOC document that will be produced will be verified again by the local government. "So later there will be workshops and discussions to validate the contents of the SOC document together. Is it appropriate, or is there still something that needs to be added. We will submit the SOC document to the local government to be used as a reference for policy making in coastal areas," she explained.

"The process of preparing the SOC document itself, both at the regional and national levels, is in accordance with the Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA) regional tools and has been adopted and adjusted by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry according to existing needs. So, we are committed to assisting the Demak District Government in implementing the Focus programme," he added.

Muhammad Qustam Sahibuddin, Team Leader of PKSPL IPB University said that the Focus programme is implemented from 2023 to 2026 which consists of several stages of the programme plan, namely, lobbying and advocacy, capacity building, collective campaigns, monitoring and evaluation, institutional approaches and coordination of partnerships with various parties.

"Currently PKSPL IPB University is collecting, tracking existing data and information, especially in Demak Regency related to aspects of coastal governance and aspects of sustainable development. These data will be very important for the formulation of the Demak District SOC document," said Qustam.

Ahmad Nur Azizul Miftah, Head of Economy and Regional Infrastructure of Bappelitbangda Demak, explained, "Currently, the coastal areas of Demak Regency are being studied. The results of a study or research are very important to be used as a reference related to policy making. Our function as Bappedalitbangda is to coordinate, monitor and oversee the planning of programmes in the Demak Regency Government."

Aziz said he was happy with the Focus programme in Demak. This is because Demak District will have a SOC document that can be used as a reference for decision-making related to programmes in the coastal areas of Demak District. 

"In addition, the Focus programme provides a way to continue to improve the programmes that we have done and will do, especially in coastal areas. We will facilitate the availability of data in Bappedalitbangda and coordinate with related agencies in Demak Regency," said Aziz. (MQS/Rz) (IAAS/RUM)