4.2 Urgency of Food Security On Sulu & Sulawesi Coastal Areas 4.2.1 Significance of Sulu & Sulawesi Area

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4.

2 Urgency of food security on Sulu & Sulawesi coastal areas

4.2.1 Significance of Sulu & Sulawesi area

Figure 4.1 The Coral Triangle bordered by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Solomon
Islands, Papua New Guinea, and Timor Leste1

Figure 4.2- Map of Sulu & Sulawesi coastal areas2

Located in the heart of the Coral Triangle- the world’s biggest marine

biodiversity- Sulu & Sulawesi coastal area is a highly significant biogeographic. 3 It

covers an area of 1 million square kilometers area that is considered as the global

centre of tropical marine diversity with the highest number of species of coral reef,

1
“Sulu Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion - ASEAN Heritage Parks,” accessed November 15, 2020,
http://chm.aseanbiodiversity.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=133&Itemid=220.
2
Ibid
3
Evangeline F.b. Miclat, Jose A. Ingles, and Jose Noel B. Dumaup, “Planning across Boundaries for the
Conservation of the Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion,” Ocean & Coastal Management 49, no. 9-10 (2006):
597-609.
fishes, green sea turtles, algae, mangrove, and sea grass which provide livelihood to

about 40 million people living along the coastline.4

Both Indonesia and Philippines which encompass the area of Sulu & Sulawesi

sea are the world largest archipelagic nations that contribute to approximately 5.4

million tons of fish every year with potential overall production assessed to be up to

9.93 million tons and total allowable catch set at 7.95 million tons.5 The key valuable

fisheries production relies on demersal species, pelagic fish, and non-fish species such

as turtles, crabs, and shrimp.6 Besides, the region also contributes to the world’s

largest producer of seagrass- the habitat for over 600 species of fish, around 2,000

species of coral reefs which is equal to 40% of total world’s production, home to

world’s most known species of marine turtle, whale, and shark and contributed about

34% of world’s small pelagic fisheries production and 30% of green sea turtles. 7

Furthermore, in 2015, Indonesia itself became the largest supplier of tuna

internationally where the centre of its production is located on the Sulawesi Sea.8

4
Evangeline F.b. Miclat, Jose A. Ingles, and Jose Noel B. Dumaup, “Planning across Boundaries for the
Conservation of the Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion,” Ocean & Coastal Management 49, no. 9-10 (2006):
597-609.
5
Ibid
6
Ibid
7
Ibid
8
“State of the Coral Triangle: Indonesia,” accessed November 15, 2020,
https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/42409/state-coral-triangle-indonesia.
Figure 4.3- Significance of Indonesia’s tuna industry in 20159

In relation to food security, the national demand for fisheries products of both

countries have been significantly increasing and is estimated to provide around 50%

consumption on animal protein which has become the world’s highest dependency

rate in 2016.10 Moreover, the capture fisheries activity on Sulu & Sulawesi sea have

created up million jobs in production and generates up to $50 billion in revenue which

account to 3%-5% of both countries’ GDP. 11 In terms of tourism, marine destinations

on this region have estimated to attract around 30% of all foreign and domestic tourist

visitors which generate approximately $100 million per year.12

This subregion characterized by the tropical climate and complex

oceanography which contributes to its abundant marine resources, however, faces

crucial threats that undermine food security and livelihoods of the people.

4.2.2 Key threats to the marine & coastal development on Sulu & Sulawesi area

Based on the results of Coral Triangle Initiative 2012 Transboundary

Diagnostic Analysis, it was agreed food security and sustainable fisheries are the most

serious threats and thus important reasons for ensuring sub-regional conservation of

marine biodiversity by taking onto account the fact that Sulu & Sulawesi coastal areas

encompasses complex issues on: first, ecological well-being, includes the practice of

overfishing & destructive fishing practices (blast fishing, beach seine netting, and

poison fishing), bycatch & injury which have killed over 7,000 turtles and tuna

every year, pollution, in which around 40% of both countries’ domestic sewage are

9
“Sulu Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion - ASEAN Heritage Parks,” accessed November 15, 2020,
http://chm.aseanbiodiversity.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=133&Itemid=220.
10
“WWF International Corals Initiative Sulu Sulawesi Marine ...,” accessed November 15, 2020,
https://wwfeu.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/sulusulawesisignifiance.
11
Ibid
12
Ibid
discharged untreated into the ocean, wildlife trafficking & trade of turtles and

sharks, and destruction of almost 40% of total coral reefs and mangroves over the

past three decades.13

FFigure 4.4- Status of marine fisheries on 201014

13
“ABOUT THE USAID OCEANS AND FISHERIES PARTNERSHIP,” accessed November 15, 2020,
https://www.seafdec-oceanspartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/USAID-Oceans_EAFMCapstone-04-04-
2020_approved.pdf.
14
Shion Takemura, “Fisheries Management Toolbox: A Fishers' Self-Assessment Scheme Toward Sustainable
Development of Coastal Communities,” 2018 OCEANS - MTS/IEEE Kobe Techno-Oceans (OTO) (2018).
Figure 4.5- Catch, effort, and catch per-unit of effort (CPUE) of large tuna fishery in Sulu &
Sulawesi Sea during 2005-201515

Figure 4.6- The declining status of marine fisheries in Sulu & Sulawesi Sea as indicated by the
declining catch per-unit-effort

Figure 4.6- threats to coral reefs on Sulu & Sulawesi coastal areas16

Furthermore, the impacts of climate have exacerbated the situation on the rise

of sea temperature and ocean acidification which contribute to the environmental

degradation that lead to the unsustainable coastal development. 17 Besides, it also

affects significantly on the ocean circulation that decreases the fisheries productivity

and carbon dioxide uptake which have put around 20% of valuable species are under

the risk of extinction.18

15
Ibid
16
“Sulu Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion - ASEAN Heritage Parks,” accessed November 15, 2020,
http://chm.aseanbiodiversity.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=133&Itemid=220.
17
Ibid
18
Ibid
Second, human well-being relates to the rapid population growth and

deterioration of resources in this ecoregion indicates that it has exceeded the natural

capacity of the marine ecosystem to fulfil the basic needs of the coastal communities

which thus impacted the inability of coastal communities to further attempt the market

demand while at the same time there are high demand on seafood products, then

resulted on the conflicts over the resources’ use and poverty. 19 Lastly, the devastation

of fish stocks, overexploitation on marine natural resources, and community

modification have also cited weak governance system, including lack of stakeholder

engagement and cooperation on local and national to regional level, limited

institutional capabilities, lack of socialization, public participation, and data

availability, along with weak enforcement of fishery regulations have resulted on the

lack of awareness among the people on the resources management followed by the

emergence on wider issues such as transnational crime, illegal fishing, and sea

piracy.20 Those issues identified at the subregional level are correlated and identical to

the ones identified on regional or wider level.21

The analysis above imply that the Sulu-Sulawesi coastal areas have forms a

major geopolitical focus with porous borders that is complicated by the intersection of

political boundaries among countries and further face various kind of threats that

contribute to environmental degradation, human suffering, and instability which thus

inhibit a strong need for multilateral interventions to implement a sustainable

management and coastal marine development.

19
Salamun Pasda, Basri Bado, and Siti Hasbiah, “Model of Poverty Reduction by Strengthening Institutional
Cooperatives for Coastal Areas of South Sulawesi,” Proceedings of the First International Conference on
Materials Engineering and Management - Management Section (ICMEMm 2018) (2019).
20
“Sulu-Sulawesi Seascape,” Conservation International, accessed November 15, 2020,
https://www.conservation.org/philippines/projects/sulu-sulawesi-seascape.
21
Ibid
BIBLIOGRAPHY

“ABOUT THE USAID OCEANS AND FISHERIES PARTNERSHIP.” Accessed November


15, 2020. https://www.seafdec-oceanspartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/USAID-
Oceans_EAFMCapstone-04-04-2020_approved.pdf.

Miclat, Evangeline F.b., Jose A. Ingles, and Jose Noel B. Dumaup. “Planning across
Boundaries for the Conservation of the Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion.” Ocean &
Coastal Management 49, no. 9-10 (2006): 597–609.

Pasda, Salamun, Basri Bado, and Siti Hasbiah. “Model of Poverty Reduction by
Strengthening Institutional Cooperatives for Coastal Areas of South Sulawesi.”
Proceedings of the First International Conference on Materials Engineering and
Management - Management Section (ICMEMm 2018) (2019).

Pomeroy, Robert S., Len R. Garces, Michael D. Pido, John E. Parks, and Geronimo Silvestre.
“The Role of Scale within an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management: Policy
and Practice in Southeast Asian Seas.” Marine Policy. Pergamon, May 15, 2019. Last
modified May 15, 2019. Accessed November 15, 2020.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X18309047.

“State of the Coral Triangle: Indonesia.” Accessed November 15, 2020.


https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/42409/state-coral-triangle-
indonesia.pdf.

“Sulu Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion - ASEAN Heritage Parks.” Accessed November 15, 2020.
http://chm.aseanbiodiversity.org/index.php?
option=com_content&view=article&id=133&Itemid=220.

“Sulu-Sulawesi Seascape.” Conservation International. Accessed November 15, 2020.


https://www.conservation.org/philippines/projects/sulu-sulawesi-seascape.

Takemura, Shion. “Fisheries Management Toolbox: A Fishers' Self-Assessment Scheme


Toward Sustainable Development of Coastal Communities.” 2018 OCEANS -
MTS/IEEE Kobe Techno-Oceans (OTO) (2018).

“WWF International Corals Initiative Sulu Sulawesi Marine ...” Accessed November 15,
2020. https://wwfeu.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/sulusulawesi.pdf.

———. “Planning across Boundaries for the Conservation of the Sulu-Sulawesi Marine
Ecoregion.” Ocean & Coastal Management 49, no. 9-10 (2006): 597–609.

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