The Coral Triangle Center (CTC) team joined a writing retreat in the Netherlands as part of a research project called “Climate Change and Governance In Tropical Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)” held on September 11-16, 2023 at Leiden University.

The project is led by Dr. David Kloos and is supported by the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies or The Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde (KITLV) and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). It aims to develop and test an approach for the interdisciplinary study of the impact of human-induced climate change on social-ecological systems in MPAs using the Lease Islands MPA as a case study.  

CTC, represented by Executive Director Rili Djohani and Maluku Portfolio Manager Purwanto, joined the write shop as as key resource persons together with other colleagues who are active and familiar with the Lease Islands MPA, including representatives from Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), the Maluku Province’s Agency for Regional Planning and Development (Bappeda), Gadjah Madah University, Pattimura University, and Wageningen University, to discuss and write the lessons learned from the involvement of local communities in the establishment and management of the Lease Islands MPA.  They also looked at whether customary authority and local knowledge can accelerate or hinder the viability of a MPA in times of climate crisis.

The discussions also focused on exploring more appropriate approaches for the application of conservation principles to optimally benefit from two perspectives (customary & formal) for the management of the Lease Islands MPA.

Following the writeshop, the research project team led by Dr. Kloos aims to  develop and complete a scientific paper that will be ready for publication. Meanwhile, the CTC team will use the lessons learned from the writeshop to further inform and improve its marine conservation programs in the Lease Islands MPA.