Information Dissemination, Education and Outreach

The United States Experience in Decentralized Coastal Management: Lessons for Indonesia Proyek Pesisir TR-0005-E 35 The PSWQAT is already engaged in supporting the Proyek Pesisir Balikpapan Bay initiative and is commit- ted through a Memorandum of Understanding signed in Seattle during the IST trip to supporting this initiative over the long term.

4.2.4 Information Dissemination, Education and Outreach

It is very important that Indonesian-based programs disseminate information beyond Indonesia on the development of CZM and good governance. United States officials and coastal managers were surprised as Indonesian IST participants briefed them on progress and new developments regarding coastal and marine management in Indonesia. This highlighted the importance of programs to disseminate positive information on developments in natural resources protection and management outside Indonesia. The interaction be- tween United States coastal and marine professionals and the Indonesian IST participants was a particularly successful aspect of the IST. Non-governmental organizations and the media have an important role to play in initiating and sustaining coastal management at all levels of government. NGOs in the United States play a tremendously important role by organizing the public around coastal and marine issues at the local level, providing human resources through volunteers to support state and national programs, and overall education of both residents and visitors in coastal areas. Over the past 30 years, NGOs, in combination with the media, have become an important political constituency that has influenced national, state and local policy in profound ways. This same process is underway in Indonesia as non-governmental organizations and the media are finding new freedoms of expression. There is a tremendous opportunity for harnessing the energy of NGOs and the media to rapidly disseminate information and achieve the level of public education necessary to establish an integrated coastal program for Indonesia. Government at all levels should engage these two sectors as early as possible as partners to assess public values and achieve public aspirations concerning coastal and marine resources. Participation of communities, universities, non-governmental organizations and the private sector in coastal and marine management is important in developing and implementing coastal management programs . Pub- lic participation and the roles of NGOs were constant features of CZM programs in the United States. The role of the national and state governments in ensuring the process for broad participation in coastal manage- ment was highlighted in every site visit. By ensuring that the process for public participation and NGO leadership was in place, government agencies augmented there own management capacity and ensured broad support for coastal management initiatives. The IST participants regularly witnessed effective co- management of coastal resources achieved through effective public participation. Meetings were held be- tween IST participants and United States citizen councils and non-governmental organizations NGOs that have leading roles in implementing all aspects of coastal management programs. This includes organizing and voicing stakeholder values related to management of coastal resources that otherwise would not be heard. Very important among state programs are the approaches that have contributed to conflict resolution, coordination and harmonization processes including consistency with the local CZM programs by state agencies. Lessons for Indonesia include focusing on developing new programs for public engagement, especially under implementation of Law 221999 and working with local government to set minimum stan- dards for transparency and public participation. Public Education programs are a key means to develop support and public constituencies for coastal and marine management. These can often be combined with revenue generating activities. During visits to the Baltimore Aquarium and to the NOAANational Geographic Expedition Exhibition in Florida with Dr. Sylvia Earle, IST participants saw first hand the value of public education programs. All IST participants The United States Experience in Decentralized Coastal Management: Lessons for Indonesia Proyek Pesisir TR-0005-E 36 were provided with a range of materials and ideas that show: a how to work to engage and build a constitu- ency for CZM, and b how to keep public interest over the long term. New generations of constituents are progressively built by updating CZM issues, by building these updated issues into progressively newer public education programs and by keeping CZM issues prominent in the local media. Indonesia needs a similarly organized and systematic public education and outreach effort and should seek to include this as a core element of all CZM initiatives. The United States Experience in Decentralized Coastal Management: Lessons for Indonesia Proyek Pesisir TR-0005-E 37

5.0 Conclusions and Programmatic Recommendations