The 1980s was a period of relative stability. Villages where sasi was alive and functioning
remained stable. In some villages, there was a tendency to revitalize sasi. The 1990s is a period
of the further decline of sasi. The period between the 1970s and 1990s covers one generation.
Modernization and commercialization, as a result of improved communication infrastructure
and education and the expansion of market relations, have influenced the local culture and
especially the younger generations. The generational change, together with the rapid rate of
social, economic and political change in Maluku in the 1990s, is most likely the reason why
sasi is currently suffering such relatively rapid losses.
The case studies underscore the inventory evidence that contemporary decline of sasi often
stems from conflicts. Conflicts can in some cases be related to the social change that resulted
from the introduction of the new village structure by the national government. Also, the
election system has opened up possibilities for opportunists with vested interests to resume
the position of village leader. On the other hand, where traditional authorities (saniri negeri)
merged into the new government (LMD), adat and sasi have remained a significant aspect of
village life. Overlap between the traditional and formal government proved to be essential in
the prolongation of sasi.
The continuing presence of sasi is affected by village size and proximity to a large urban
center. This is clearly illustrated by the early and rapid losses of sasi recorded on Ambon
Island, which historically has been the government center and most densely populated island
in the study area. Ostrom (1990) writes that the likelihood of users designing successful
common property institutions will be improved if the group is relatively small and stable,
and if it is relatively homogeneous. Our research confirms this, for sasi is most resilient in
homogeneous villages of fewer than 3,000 people. Villages close to the capital, where sasi no
longer functions, have exceeded a critical size, become heterogeneous and shifted from
subsistence fishing and farming to large-scale fishing and urban employment.
Of all the forms of sasi, marine sasi, though less generally prevalent, appears to be relatively
robust. Whereas sasi has generally suffered severe losses in recent years, marine sasi has been
relatively stable and even shows signs of revitalization in the 1990s. This revival comes basically
out of the heartfelt attachment of people to adat, in general, and sasi, in particular, but also the
commercial value of marine products such as Trochus niloticus, other shellfish and sea
cucumbers for foreign markets is an important incentive to keep or re-institutionalize sasi.
The process is further being facilitated and reinforced by intervening NGOs, government,
and academic supporters who see the potential value of sasi as a resource management system.
Where the people do not expect to benefit directly, they do not seem interested in the
revitalization of sasi. A lack of transparency in distribution of benefits further hampers the
process. There is a risk that in villages where sasi is being used as a tool to extract resource
rents that sasi then turns into “a government thing” controlled by local elites. This is a
disincentive for fishers to follow the new sasi rules.
Church sasi is the most common type of land sasi in Christian villages. The church also has
the potential to play an important role in marine sasi. Church sasi derives its strength from
the strong religious beliefs of rural villagers. The church is more stable than the ever-changing
village governments. Church sasi, currently applied only to coconuts, provides direct
individual benefits to the people and so is valued. Past shifts of authority over land sasi from
adat to the church helped to increase the effectiveness of the institution when the kewang lost
its enforcement capacity. In many cases, villagers believe that the threat of sanction by God is
a more powerful deterrent than the sanctions imposed by the kewang. As seen from the
256 An Institutional Analysis of Sasi Laut in Maluku, Indonesia