Abstract
While there is considerable literature on coastal adaptation, there is less scholarly attention for how social capital, interactive governance, and ecosystem-based approaches can be combined to promote inclusive development. Hence, this paper examines contemporary efforts to protect coasts in Demak, northern Java, Indonesia, which are threatened by coastal erosion induced flooding, through large-scale planting of mangroves. We argue that the success of such ecosystem-based approaches depends on wide-spread civil society participation. Our analysis of the structure of bonding, bridging and linking capital in Demak reveals that although some local groups may lack bonding and bridging capital, their ability to acquire linking capital enables them to monopolise resources from the state and international NGOs for mangrove plantings; this negatively effects the cohesion of the coastal protection program and therefore its effectiveness and inclusiveness as mangrove groups protect their own areas. The paper shows that an understanding of the social capital of different local groups can enable a better understanding of how to engage them in ecosystem based governance.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 3-11 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Ocean and Coastal Management |
Volume | 150 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2017 |
Externally published | Yes |
Funding
The first author would like to acknowledge the scholarship fund, LPDP Ministry of Finance , the Republic of Indonesia, for the financial support. This paper has been written as part of a collaboration between the Centre for Maritime Research (MARE) and the European Association of Development Institutes Working Group on Inclusive Development.
Keywords
- Coastal protection
- Inclusive development
- Interactive governance
- Mangrove planting
- Social capital