Who owns the benefits, and who bears the costs?

Introduction/Background

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are established to protect marine ecosystems and fisheries by restricting human activities. While they aim to protect biodiversity, MPAs also support coastal livelihoods through tourism as one means to achieve certain social and economic objectives. Tourist visits in MPAs can support local economies, alleviate poverty, and create jobs. By 2030, marine tourism is projected to become the dominant sector of the global ocean-based economy. However, this growth can negatively impact the ecosystem and biodiversity, and local communities through environmental degradation, pollution, and socio-cultural changes. Wastewater pollution poses slow-onset threats to coral reef resilience and delays the impact on local livelihoods.

Dilemmas in marine tourism development within MPAs lie in identifying who reaps the benefits and who bears the costs. This development may create ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ across and within societal groups. Several studies pointed out that local communities often receive only few benefits from marine tourism, with most advantages going to non-local communities such as tourism business owners and their non-local employees.

A general issue in open access natural resource systems is that people tend to prioritize short-term economic gains over long-term sustainability for ecosystems and local communities. This tendency is especially apparent in the tourism industry, which has been documented as a leading sector contributing to long-term environmental impacts. The focus on short-term economic benefits, which may be driven by the mobility of tourists and business owners, can lead to decisions that neglect ecological and environmental impact. This disparity in both benefits and environmental responsibility highlights the need for more equitable and sustainable governance structures to marine tourism in MPAs.

The distribution of benefits and costs is closely linked to the extent to which various actors can take part in decision-making on marine tourism and MPAs, a concept known as procedural equity. The procedural equity of the policies must ensure the involvement of different societal groups in decision-making processes around tourism and conservation while also recognizing the distribution of the benefits and costs over time across societal groups.

Project description
This project aims to explore spatial and temporal patterns in the distribution of benefits and costs of marine tourism across various societal groups in Indonesian MPAs. Timescales refer to differential rates at which benefits and costs emerge, while mobility concerns the movements and access among various tourism actors in general, and labour and capital in particular. The research aims to highlight the disparities between rooted local communities and mobile tourism actors. The study will also investigate the societal costs of wastewater pollution, emphasizing the uncertainties associated with this issue. Finally, the study will underscore the critical role of procedural equity in ensuring fair decision-making processes.

Against this backdrop, it seems important to examine marine tourism’s impact in underpinning the role of timescale and mobility in distribution of costs and benefits. To that end, the research questions guiding this project are: (1) What are the benefits and the costs of marine tourism for different societal groups in Indonesia’s MPAs? (2) How are the economic benefits and costs of marine tourism in Indonesia’s MPAs distributed across societal groups, considering differences in mobility and timescale? (3) How does the societal cost of wastewater pollution from marine tourism affect the communities’ livelihoods and health? (4) How can marine tourism in Indonesia’s MPAs be governed in a more equitable way?