The Wildlife Conservation Society Indonesian Program (WCS-IP), in collaboration with the Coral Triangle Center (CTC) and the Conservation and Marine Services Professional Certification Institute (LSP KJK), organized a Training and Competency Assessment on Conservation Area Management Planning (Lokalatih dan Uji Kompetensi Perencanaan Pengelolaan Kawasan Konservasi) in Mataram on January 20-24, 2025. The training aimed to enhance the capacity of Management Units and conservation area (CA) stakeholders in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) in developing comprehensive management plans and initiating plan revisions through multi-stakeholder involvement.

This initiative aligns with Indonesia’s goal of expanding marine conservation areas to cover 30% of the national marine territory by 2045. Since 2010, CTC has played a role in facilitating the establishment, management, and evaluation of conservation areas. However, many Management Units still face challenges in developing effective management plans, accessing funding beyond state and regional budgets, and establishing strategic partnerships.

Findings and recommendations from the Conservation Area Management Effectiveness Evaluation (EVIKA) conducted from 2021 to 2024 indicate that management plans—especially for areas designated before 2020—often lack explicit conservation targets, which are the core of the entire management plan. Conservation targets are fundamental components in designing, establishing, managing, and monitoring a conservation area. The failure to identify conservation targets results in unstructured conservation planning, making areas more vulnerable to management risks.

“This training is designed to enrich participants’ understanding of the management planning process while also improving their skills in evidence-based strategic planning,” said CTC Training Manager, Silvianita Timotius.

A total of 21 participants from various institutions attended the training, including the NTB Marine and Fisheries Office, BLUD UPTD BPSDKP units in Sumbawa, Lombok, and Bima-Dompu, as well as other conservation organizations. Participants were equipped with skills in: Understanding the initial stages of conservation area planning, Identifying conservation targets and key threats, Developing adaptive management strategies, and Designing monitoring and evaluation systems.

Training evaluations showed a significant increase in participants’ understanding, with post-test scores improving by 14.05 points compared to pre-test scores. This reflects the effectiveness of the training methods in enhancing conservation area management competencies. The training also led to the initial revision of management plans for three conservation areas: Gita Nada, Sangiang Island, and Lipan Island & Rakit Island.

Additionally, the training was followed by a competency assessment on Friday, January 24, 2025. by WCS-IP, in collaboration with LSP KJK and the CTC Testing Center (TUK). As a result, ten participants obtained certification as Conservation Area Management Planning Specialists. This certification is a crucial step in ensuring that conservation area managers meet competency standards in response to increasingly complex conservation needs. In addition to the training participants, three CTC staff members who served as trainers also took part in the competency assessment.The training received positive feedback from participants. Susiani Purnamaningsih, S.Pi, from the Lombok Regional Marine and Fisheries Resource Management Office (BLUD UPTD BPSDKP), noted that the training used interactive and practical learning methods, making it easier for participants to apply their knowledge. “This training has provided us at BLUD with valuable knowledge. We hope to be better guided in preparing future management plans and passing on what we have learned. We also hope that this support continues, maintaining networks and mentoring us moving forward,” she said.

During the training, CTC identified several challenges in the implementation of conservation area management planning, particularly in setting long-term objectives and sustainable implementation strategies. To enhance the effectiveness of future training, CTC plans to make several adjustments, including extending the training duration for deeper strategic planning discussions, assigning permanent facilitators to each group for more intensive mentoring, and requiring participants to bring data from their managed conservation areas to develop more context-specific management strategies.

Through these efforts, it is hoped that conservation area Management Units in NTB will become more adaptive and responsive in developing and implementing evidence-based management plans, supporting Indonesia’s national conservation targets for 2045. Moving forward, CTC remains committed to strengthening the capacity of conservation area managers to achieve more sustainable and impactful environmental and community outcomes.

Writer: Asia Salsabilla, Hesti Widodo, Silvianita Timotius, Kasman, Wienda Ardiyani
Credit: Kasman/CTC, WCS