An institutional analysis of sasi laut in Maluku, Indonesia

current elites by allowing the system to become inflexible and non-transparent. Should
democratic ideals one day become the norm in Asian coastal villages, the management institution
must be able to evolve to accommodate increased need for participation by stakeholders.

18.8.1 Recommendations for future research

The sasi institution has sufficient benefits that can and should be used as the basis for building
local level management institutions. Sasi, however, takes many forms and it requires further
study to determine the optimal configuration. Issues to be addressed include:

• The relative costs and benefits of lelang (auction or sale of resource extraction rights)
as opposed to communal or individual harvesting.

•   The position of kewang relative to village government and religious leaders.

•   Optimizing collaboration among enforcement bodies (kewang, village head, church,

police, navy).

• Potential for local monitoring and evaluation of resource health and management
performance.

• Pros and cons of hereditary versus selected or elected leadership in different situations.

• Optimal level of ceremony and adat tradition.

• Developing collaborative structures with higher government levels.

• Raising consciousness and knowledge levels both among villagers and government
staff with respect to resource management principles and options.

Pilot projects to test a number of alternative models for such local co-management institutions
are needed. Before starting a pilot project, additional information would be useful, as there
may well be indigenous management practices not yet documented which could be usefully
incorporated into a revitalized marine sasi institution. To date, only limited portions of Maluku
have been investigated. Extension of the inventory to cover all of Ambon, Seram, Buru and the
Banda Islands, followed by investigation of the Maluku Islands to the north and south, would
provide a better picture of how widespread sasi and other village-level management efforts are.

During this study, it was noted that blast fishing is almost always blamed on “outsiders”. It
would be instructive to see who blast fishers are and explore their motivations since this
activity is an immediate threat to fisheries resources. It would be interesting to look at the
degree of overlap of blast fishers and sasi villages.

More detailed biological assessments inside and outside of guarded sasi areas would be
extremely useful in quantifying the impact of different forms of sasi. Is a habitat better
protected by private guards (lelang situation) or by the kewang? Which fisheries rules directly
or indirectly protect fisheries habitats and to what degree? Biological research should also be
performed, comparing sasi areas of different sizes to investigate impacts on fish numbers and
diversity. Is there an optimal size for a protected area? Would “no-take” zones located in or
near sasi areas increase productivity?

In this study, we focused on Christian villages but there is evidence that sasi as practiced in
Muslim villages is different. Case studies to clarify the role of adat and religious leaders, to
identify key contextual factors and incentives, and to study resilience in Muslim villages, are
needed. This is particularly important in the light of the changing demography (i.e., increasing
proportion of non-indigenous Muslims) of central Maluku.

There is also a need to follow up on progress of revitalization in Hulaliu, Tuhaha, and other
sites identified in the inventory.

282 An Institutional Analysis of Sasi Laut in Maluku, Indonesia

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