REVIVAL OF LOCAL KNOWLEDGE AND MYTH IN FISHERIES MANAGEMENT IN INDONESIA

摘要

Sawen is a traditional resource management institution that originally integrated the management of forests, the sea and farmland using cognitive aspects (local knowledge and resource management principles), regulatory aspects (codes of conduct) and normative aspects (world views and belief systems). Sawen in North Lombok, Indonesia, was somewhat radically eradicated early in the Soeharto regime. This article analyzes the cause and effect of the cessation of sawen practices in marine resource management, and the recent attempt to revitalize it in Kayangan, a small coastal community in North Lombok. Preliminary findings suggest that revitalized marine resources' sawen was able to assist the local community in addressing issues of overexploitation, access rights and lack of enforcement of fishing regulations in their near shore waters. More importantly, the revitalization of sawen has: (a) returned the marine cultural identity of the community that had ceased to exist in the past three decades duringthe Soeharto regime, (b) provided a 'protection institution' for small scale fishers, (c) provided insights (i.e., local knowledge and wisdom) for implementation of local fisheries management, and finally (d) created a legitimate institution of community-based fisheries management in the study area.