Starting this year, the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF) of the Republic of Indonesia introduces a new evaluation tool for the management effectiveness of marine conservation areas, or EVIKA. This is to amend the previous evaluation system for the management effectiveness of marine, coastal, and small islands conservation areas (EKKP3K), which is no longer relevant due to some flaws. CTC is involved in preparing the curriculum and module for EVIKA training for the marine protected area (MPA) personnel in collaboration with the Directorate of Marine Conservation and Biodiversity (KKHL) of MMAF and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). 

The official use of EVIKA was stated in the Decree of the Director General of Marine Spatial Planning (PRL) No. 28 of 2020. This revised system served as an outcome of a series of study and discussions on the improvement of the EKKP3K system as regulated in the Decree of the Director General of Marine, Coastal and Small Islands Conservation Areas (KP3K) No. 44 of 2012. The EKKP3K evaluation system has a few weaknesses and is considered no longer relevant to respond to the complex needs set out in the MPA Vision 2020-2024 Roadmap document.

Some of EKKP3K weaknesses that have been identified include the inability to respond to the actual needs in the field and to identify roles and assess responsibilities of related stakeholders in managing the MPA. In addition, the EKKP3K method still assesses evaluation by building blocks, meaning that it is unable to provide detailed results. The MPA management evaluation process, on the other hand, does not refer to the management and zoning plan (RPZ) agreed by the community, local government, and other relevant stakeholders of the respective MPA.

The study also revealed other weaknesses, such as that the EKKP3K only considers a new conservation area as official after it reaches the green level, and the MPA outcomes can only be measured when the management has reached the blue level. This is, in fact, difficult for most MPA personnel. To be able to achieve the green and blue levels respectively, the MPA personnel are required to complete questions and tasks. There are 21 questions for the green level and 28 questions for the blue level, and each of these questions sometimes needs complex supporting documents.

The colour-based ranking system in the EKKP3K was also revised into four main criteria in the new EVIKA system, namely input, process, output, and outcome. This simplification brings impact on the smaller number of questions for each criterion, ranging between 8 to 13 questions only. However, all these questions have already covered 24 essential indicators of the MPA management effectiveness, which indicate that the new tool does not lose its ability to evaluate the MPA management in detail.

The results of the EVIKA will be classified into three ranks, namely the bronze for final cumulative values below 50%, silver for values ranging from >50% to 85%, and gold for values above 85%. The bronze result means that the conservation area is managed at a minimum level, where the designs and management of the area is already carried out, but more efforts are still required to meet the objectives. The silver result means that the conservation area is managed optimally, the management functions adaptively, and several objectives have been met. Finally, the gold result means that the conservation area is managed in a sustainable manner and the benefits of the conservation area are felt by the wider community.

Currently, CTC with the WCS and the KKHL of MMAF are still developing the curriculum and module of EVIKA training to be delivered to MPA managers and personnel soon. In addition, CTC will also test the EVIKA assessment of the Sula Islands MPA with the MAF Agency of North Maluku Province to get familiarized with the system and to review it comprehensively. Through these activities, CTC can hopefully contribute to better management of MPAs in Indonesia.

Photos by: Evi Ihsan/CTC and Purwanto/CTC