Coastal zone space in Indonesia: Prelude to conflict?

With 17,504 islands (12,000 inhabited) and 95,181 km of coastline, Indonesia represents an amazing maritime country, and of crucial proportion in managing their coastal zones, small islands and ocean. Culturally the coastal zones are mixed ethnically, and socially a zone of conflicting interest which arose in all level of bureaucrat and stakeholders. Indonesia’s coastal and small island ecosystems and their marine biological diversity is core of national assets. If our use of them is well managed, they can meet a broad range of economic, social and cultural aspirations. They also provide a range of essential environmental services that would be extremely costly or impossible to restore or replace if ecosystem functioning was impaired. The need for integrated and ecosystem-based coastal, small islands and oceans planning and management are presented and discussed briefly.