Communal decision-making
Fishermen in sasi villages had a relatively more positive perception of past communal decision-
making. The degree to which villagers are able to make decisions communally has not changed
over time (Table 8.1). However, whereas those in sasi communities expected this to continue,
non-sasi fishers expected conditions to worsen in future (Table 8.2). The fishers in these villages
spoke of the loss of respect for adat, increasing population, immigration of people with different
values, and other outside influences as being factors in the decline. Fishers who were more
optimistic referred to increasing awareness and education as positive influences.
Ease of entry
Ease of entry into the fishery was seen as declining over time because the cost of fees (26
comments) and of new gears (33 comments) increased. Also, the cost of fuel rose because
fishers had to go farther out to sea to find fish (19 comments). Here, too, fishers were
pessimistic about future change whether they lived in a village with marine sasi or in a place
with no local management institution.
Control over resources and compliance
Current and future control over access to resources, as well as current compliance with regulations
were rated higher in sasi villages. Both groups thought compliance rates had decreased over time
and expected this decline to continue into the future. However, this breakdown in compliance
was most marked in non-sasi villages. Differences among villages were also interesting. Fishers
in the most traditional sasi villages (Nolloth, Haruku) perceived compliance to fisheries rules to
be particularly high compared to the 26 other villages in the sample. Where sasi had evolved into
a commercial transaction, with the kewang being not hereditary village police but a group hired to
guard the resource extraction rights of an individual, fishers perceived compliance to be lower
and on the decline (Kabauw, Pelauw). In villages where the kewang was active or where the village
government played an active role in governing the fishery (mostly sasi villages), control over
access was perceived as high, and this was generally regarded as good.
Fishers from three villages that had lost marine sasi as an institution but still had sasi-style
rules in effect (Hulaliu, Tuhaha, Soahuku), perceived compliance to be significantly lower
than in all other villages. Factors most commonly identified as influencing compliance were
leadership (72 comments), allegiance to adat (27 comments), economic need (22 comments),
education and awareness (22 comments), and the threat of sanctions (19 comments).
8.4 Social Sustainability Indicators
Five indicators of social sustainability were measured: 1) tradition of collective action, 2) family
well-being, 3) income, 4) discussion of village issues, and 5) community harmony (for
definitions, see Table 2.6).
For four of five indicators, current conditions were significantly different between sasi and
non-sasi villages i.e., the tradition of collective action, community harmony and discussion of
village issues were higher in sasi villages; income was lower. Considering the change in each
indicator over the past 15 years (Table 8.1), we see that the changes also differed significantly
between sasi and non-sasi villages for three indicators. The tradition of collective action and
harmony declined more dramatically in non-sasi villages, whereas income levels increased.
84 An Institutional Analysis of Sasi Laut in Maluku, Indonesia