RIPE FOR REFORM - INDONESIA'S MINISTRY OF MARINE AFFAIRS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001289

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR OES AND EAP
COMMERCE FOR NOAA
USAID FOR ANE, EGAT
BANGKOK FOR RDM/A

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAGR EAID ENRG KGHG SENV PGOV ID
SUBJECT: RIPE FOR REFORM - INDONESIA'S MINISTRY OF MARINE AFFAIRS
AND FISHERIES


1. (SBU) Summary. The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries is
an important target for management reform assistance because it is
in charge of programs -- such as the Coral Triangle Initiative and
the May 2009 World Oceans Conference -- that are important to the
USG. Within the Ministry, some appointments are made on the basis
of personal loyalty to the Minister, and mid-level managers do not
raise cross-ministry suggestions for improvement. Decentralization
of services to the provincial and local levels is not yet effective.
A USAID-funded assessment in August will examine how the Ministry
operates and recommend specific interventions aimed at reform, which
will help make our assistance programs more effective. End
Summary.

Organizational Structure of DKP
--------------

2. (SBU) The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (DKP) is a
complex organization. It comprises five Directorate Generals, two
Agencies, an Inspectorate General, and a Secretary General who
oversees the planning, legal, finance, data, and international
cooperation bureaus. The Minister also has expert staff that report
directly to him.

The Directorate Generals:
-- Capture Fisheries
-- Aquaculture
-- Marine, Coastal and Small Islands
-- Fisheries Product Processing and Marketing
-- Fisheries Resource Surveillance and Controlling

The Agencies:
-- Agency for Marine and Fisheries Research
-- Agency for Marine and Fisheries Human Resource Development

Management and Organizational Characteristics
--------------

3. (SBU) Although the Secretary General is more senior than the
Director Generals (DGs) and Agency Chairmen, he has no supervisory
authority over them. Direct control is maintained by the Minister,
who relies on his expert staff and the Secretary General for
information, though he usually does not take their advice unless
there is strong support and consensus among the DGs for change.
Some DGs are very capable and strong, others have a reputation for
being less effective and have been assigned based on personal
loyalty to the Minister or for other political reasons.


4. (SBU) The Ministry is "stove-piped" and does not work well across
the Directorate Generals. There is substantial duplication of
effort and numerous inefficiencies. Important cross-cutting
initiatives and programs of strong interest to the USG (for example,
the Coral Triangle Initiative and Sea Partnership Program) are
managed several layers below the Director General. (Note: Until
now, the DG for Marine, Coastal and Small Islands has shepherded CTI
within the Ministry. End Note). Director Generals appear to be
reluctant to offend each other by suggesting partnerships and
joint-projects in the realm of other DGs, even where there is a
clear need to coordinate.


5. (SBU) Cross-DG coordination is a priority for the Secretary
General, though he has no direct authority to mandate this. Non-DKP
advisors have recommended that important programs be placed under
the control of the Secretary General, but unless a consensus
develops (including agreement by the Director General who currently
manages the program) this is not likely to happen. The Minister
frequently reassigns DGs, but newly reassigned managers quickly lose
their broader perspective. (Note: If the Secretary General had
supervisory authority, and the Ministry created expectations for
internal coordination to eliminate duplication of efforts, DKP could
achieve significant program implementation improvements. End
Note.)


6. (SBU) DKP has many dedicated and hard-working staff, but
specialized training is lacking. There are numerous policies,
regulations, and programs in place, but program implementation is
often not effective. For example, decentralization of coastal
management, fisheries management, and enforcement means that

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implementation of these programs rely on provincial and local
governments in near-shore areas. Building and implementing strong
partnerships to ensure that all levels of government are going in
the same direction seems to be spotty. (Note: Creating incentives
for cooperation between the Ministry and provinces and local
governments would also improve implementation. End Note.)

USG Assistance for Reform
--------------

7. (SBU) USAID is providing funding for a team of consultants to
conduct an assessment of DKP (as well as the Ministry of Forestry
and the Ministry of Home Affairs) in August-September 2008, with a
particular emphasis on their responsibilities pertaining to
Ecosystems Based Management of Fisheries as well as Management of
Marine Protected Areas System -- key components of the Coral
Triangle Initiative. The team's assessment will provide the USG
with insights into how the ministries operate and recommend actions
and specific interventions aimed at reform. These will make our
assistance programs, including to CTI, as effective as possible.


8. (SBU) This report is based on the observations and conversations
of Embassy's NOAA Science Fellow embedded in DKP, and are consistent
with the observations of State and USAID Officers at Post.

HUME