The Bajau as a left-behind group in the context of coastal and marine co-management system in Indonesia

The Bajau are a sea nomad group in Indonesia with the largest proportion of the population living nearby or utilizing marine resources in the fragile pelagic zone. In general, the Bajau have been a left-behind group and thus occupied a peripheral role in coastal and marine management and conservation. In Wakatobi, Southeast Sulawesi Province, the Bajau communities are marginalized in terms of policy recognition and development plan. This paper explores how a co-management system which is a platform to synchronize the community and organization needs in the coastal management and customary practices has failed to recruit the Bajau’s participation. The primary data were collected using multi-sited ethnographic method in five Bajau villages in Wakatobi and using key informant interviews with related stakeholders. The inter-customary controls for coastal and marine management, the issue of social cohesion within the Bajau communities, and the lack of institutional support were investigated as drivers of co-management failure in Wakatobi. The implementation of a co-management system requires multi-sectoral agreement and socio-cultural consideration. Unless the Bajau are acknowledged, accepted, and involved as an important partner in marine management and conservation, the success of the co-management system remains in doubt.