Marine Spatial Planning Practices in Higher-Income Countries: What to Adopt for Indonesia?

Abstract As a maritime nation, the fact that Indonesia has only begun its marine-oriented development in the last two decades and established its first national marine spatial plan in 2019 made this country still have room for improvements to maximize the management and utilization of its marine resources. Higher-income countries, i.e. the US, Australia, the Netherland, the UK and Estonia, having established marine spatial plans and successfully achieve effectiveness in its practice, hence best practices from these countries could be adopted in Indonesia. In taking best practices from higher-income countries, this study uses content analysis, gap analysis, and analytical hierarchy process methods. This study revealed that each observed country has a diverse way in planning its marine space, thereby enriching best practices for Indonesia. Although, the effectiveness of marine spatial plan is influenced by many complex things. Based on these findings, Indonesia needs to strengthen the ecosystem base, encourage the integration of policies and plans, increase public participation, use a multiple-use zoning system, maximize the use of technology, and strengthen control over the use of marine space.