Governance in the early stages of marine protected area development: A case study of Nusa Penida District Marine Conservation Area, Indonesia

This research presents a governance analysis of an Indonesian marine protected area (MPA) during the early phases of its implementation – Nusa Penida District Marine Conservation Area. Attention is drawn to the importance of participatory and communication incentives in the design and implementation stages of the MPA, which were largely facilitated through the actions of overseas and domestic non-governmental organisations. Following the official designation of the MPA, management responsibility transferred to district government and state institutions, leading to a considerable reduction in the strength of incentives and uncertainty over leadership amongst local stakeholders. The implications of this situation are discussed and recommendations for future management are identified.