Integrating community empowerment, ecotourism, and maritime resilience for a sustainable blue economy

Authors

  • Jean Richard Jokhu Faculty of Business, President University, Bekasi 17550, Indonesia
  • Agus Fernando Faculty of Business, President University, Bekasi 17550, Indonesia
  • Dadang Amir Hamzah Faculty of Business, President University, Bekasi 17550, Indonesia
  • R. Stevanus Bayu Mangkurat Coordinating Ministry for Maritime & Investment Affairs, International Women University, Jawa Barat 40173, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33175/mtr.2025.279344

Keywords:

Blue economy; Community empowerment; Ecotourism; Maritime resilience; Papua

Abstract

This study proposes an integrated framework for advancing the blue economy at the village level, with a case study in Samber Binyeri Village, Biak Numfor Regency, Papua, Indonesia. Although national policies aim to promote sustainable marine development, remote communities continue to face significant barriers, including institutional fragmentation, infrastructure limitations, and socio-economic exclusion. Through qualitative fieldwork- comprising two focus group discussions (FGDs) involving 25 participants and participatory observation- this study identifies structural constraints and emergent opportunities in cooperative fisheries, community-led ecotourism, and resilience planning. The findings underscore underutilized cooperative systems, inadequate post-harvest infrastructure, and fragmented tourism coordination. By linking community empowerment, ecological resilience, and inclusive development, this study contributes a place-based operational model for implementing blue economy strategies in underserved coastal contexts.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cite this article:

Jokhu, J.R., Fernando, A., Hamzah, D.A., & Mangkurat, R.S.B. (2025). Integrating community empowerment, ecotourism, and maritime resilience for a sustainable blue economy. Maritime Technology and Research, 7(4), 279344. https://doi.org/10.33175/mtr.2025.279344

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Highlights

  • Proposes an operational framework for blue economy implementation at the village scale.
  • Based on qualitative fieldwork in Samber Binyeri Village, Biak Numfor, Papua.
  • Identifies systemic barriers in fisheries cooperatives, post-harvest handling, and tourism planning.
  • Presents practical entry points for localized community empowerment and marine resilience.
  • Offers a scalable model for archipelagic states with marginalized maritime communities.

References

Amankwa, M. O., Adusei-Asante, K., & Novak, A. (2025). Handling socio-institutional traps–inertia towards Australia’s resilient international development aid programs in the Solomon Islands. Journal of Developing Societies, 41(2), 216-241. https://doi.org/10.1177/0169796X251322256

Antonio-Estrada, C., Cruz-Domínguez, E., Martínez-López, M., Matías-Pérez, D., & García-Montalvo, I. A. (2024). Oreochromis niloticus is a blue economy alternative for the Papaloapan region of the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 8, 1322838. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2024.1322838

Asaduzzaman, M., Nahiduzzaman, M., Chowdhury, M. T. H., Rahman, M. M., Mamun, A. A., & Hossain, M. M. (2025). Advancing low-trophic extractive mariculture (LTEM): Strategies for a thriving blue economy in Bangladesh. Marine Policy, 173, 106557. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2024.106557

Balaji, R. (2024). India’s blue economy priorities: maritime sector. Current Science. https://doi.org/10.18520/cs/v126/i2/177-184

Ben-Natan, A., & Shashar, N. (2025). A short review of strategies for augmenting organism recruitment on coastal defense structures. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 13(1), 95. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse13010095

Bennett, M., March, A., & Failler, P. (2024). Blue economy financing solutions for the fisheries and aquaculture sectors of Caribbean Island States. Fishes, 9(8), 305. https://doi.org/10.3390/fishes9080305

Brand, M. W., Huang, Y., Yang, Z., & Wang, T. (2025). Tidal stream energy resource characterization for powering the blue economy applications for Southeastern Alaska. Renewable Energy, 244, 122617. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2025.122617

Buckwell, A., Hasan, S., Knight, A., Fleming, C., Harte, J., & Smart, J. C. R. (2025). The social licence of salmon aquaculture in Tasmania: Fulfilling the social bargain. Marine Policy, 176, 106653. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2025.106653

Cardona, N. J. (2024). The evolution of the blue economy based on the strategies adopted by the european union and the generalitat of catalonia [la evolución de la economía azul en función de las estrategias adoptadas por la unión europea y la generalitat de cataluña]. Revista Catalana de Dret Ambiental, 15(2), 1-34. https://doi.org/10.17345/rcda3972

Carrasco-Bahamonde, D., & Casellas, A. (2024). Evolving blue development discourses and policies: Salmon farming industry and regional making in Chile. Marine Policy, 163, 106111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2024.106111

Cheung, W. W. L., Pauly, D., & Sumaila, U. R. (2025). Hope or despair revisited: Assessing progress and new challenges in global fisheries. Fish and Fisheries, 26(2), 257-269. https://doi.org/10.1111/faf.12877

Cook, N. D., Jenkins, A., Perry, S. L., Perkins, S. E., & Cable, J. (2024). Temporal niche partitioning as a potential mechanism for coexistence in two sympatric mesopredator sharks. Frontiers in Marine Science, 11, 1443357. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2024.1443357

Dogeje, F., Msuya, F. E., Ngaruko, D., & Mohamed, A. S. (2025). Blue economy dynamics: Does women’s participation in seaweed aquaculture influence their income levels? Empirical evidence from Zanzibar. Aquaculture International, 33, 27. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10499-024-01731-w

DuPrey, D. S., Garcia, S. M. E., Ribeiro, G. T. B., & Sanabria, J. G. (2025). The relevance of nearshore marine space for blue economy sustainability: A bibliometric analysis. Coastal Management, 53(1), 33-48. https://doi.org/10.1080/08920753.2025.2452035

Hale, R., Muetzel, L., Ericson, J., Copedo, J., Cummings, V., Ragg, N. L. C., McGraw, C., Currie, K., Rodgers, K., & Sewell, M. A. (2025). Future actions for the ocean acidification research community to support marine industries and coastal communities of Aotearoa New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 59(5), 1601-1620. https://doi.org/10.1080/00288330.2025.2460574

Hill, K. L. (2024). Reflections on international ocean science and ocean governance: Can our global structures rise to the occasion? Global Constitutionalism, 13(1), 21-24. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2045381723000163

Jakoboski, J., Roughan, M., Radford, J., de Souza, J. M. A. C., Felsing, M., Smith, R., Puketapu-Waite, N., Orozco, M. M., Maxwell, K. H., & Van Vranken, C. (2024). Partnering with the commercial fishing sector and Aotearoa New Zealand’s ocean community to develop a nationwide subsurface temperature monitoring program. Progress in Oceanography, 225, 103278. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2024.103278

Jaya, P. H. I., Izudin, A., & Aditya, R. (2024). The role of ecotourism in developing local communities in Indonesia. Journal of Ecotourism, 23(1), 20-37. https://doi.org/10.1080/14724049.2022.2117368

Khan, T., Emon, M. M. H. (2024). Exploring the potential of the blue economy: A systematic review of strategies for enhancing international business in Bangladesh in the context of Indo-Pacific region. Review of Business and Economics Studies, 12(2), 55-73. https://doi.org/10.26794/2308-944X-2024-12-2-55-73

Khokhar, M., Ejaz, F., Raza, A., Fodor, Z. J., & Hossain, M. B. (2024). Potential barriers and drivers in the growth of blue economy: Perspectives of nautical tourism. Journal of Infrastructure, Policy and Development, 8(9), 3173. https://doi.org/10.24294/jipd.v8i9.3173

Kim, A., Scott, C. P., & Swartz, W. (2024). Local perspectives on marine ecotourism development in a water-insecure island region: The case of Bocas del Toro, Panama. Frontiers in Marine Science, 11, 1377053. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2024.1377053

Kittinger, J. N., Rotjan, R. D., Hanich, Q., Pasisi, B., & Rambourg, C. (2024). Balancing protection and production in ocean conservation. NPJ Ocean Sustainability, 3, 24. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44183-024-00062-w

Lal, T., & Kour, J. (2023). Impact of microcredit on financial well-being of poor households. Indian Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, 4(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.47509/IJEFI.2022.v04i01.01

Leiva, S. R. (2024). Discussing sustainability narratives in the literature on deep-sea mining and its configuration as resource frontier [Discutiendo Narrativas De Sustentabilidad En La Literatura Sobre Minería En Aguas Profundas Y Su Configuración Como Frontera De Recursos]. Finisterra, 59(126), e34104. https://doi.org/10.18055/Finis34104

Manero, A., Yusoff, A., Lane, M., & Verreydt, K. (2024). A national assessment of the economic and wellbeing impacts of recreational surfing in Australia. Marine Policy, 167, 106267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2024.106267

March, A., Bennett, M., Germishuizen, M., Evans, T., & Failler, P. (2024). The status of Blue Economy development in Africa. Marine Policy, 165, 106205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2024.106205

March, A., Woolley, M., & Failler, P. (2024). Integration of climate change mitigation and adaptation in Blue Economy planning in Africa. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, 29, 38. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11027-024-10133-5

Márquez Pérez, A. I. (2024). They are taking the sea from us: Maritime extractivism, dispossession and resistance in rural and ethnic communities of the Colombian Caribbean. Latin American Perspectives, 51(3), 111-130. https://doi.org/10.1177/0094582X241283771

Matovu, B., Bleischwitz, R., Alkoyak-Yildiz, M., & Arlikatti, S. (2024). Invigorating women’s empowerment in marine fishing to promote transformative cultures and narratives for sustainability in the blue economy: A scoping literature review from the Global South. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, 29, 83. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11027-024-10173-x

Matovu, B., Bleischwitz, R., Lukambagire, I., Etta, L. A., Alkoyak-Yildiz, M., Tarek, R., Lee, M. A., Mammel, M., Anusree, S., & Suresh, A. S. (2025). Linking the blue economy to Women’s empowerment to create avenues for the realization of ocean sustainability targets in the global south. Ocean and Coastal Management, 262, 107582. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.107582

Matovu, B., Brouwer, F., Bleischwitz, R., Aljanabi, F., & Alkoyak-Yildiz, M. (2024). Resource nexus perspectives in the Blue Economy of India: The case of sand mining in Kerala. Environmental Science and Policy, 151, 103617. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2023.103617

Matovu, B., Lukambagire, I., Bleischwitz, R., Linda, A. E., Alkoyak-Yildiz, M., Suresh, A. S., & Anusree, S. (2025). An evidence-based review of the pre-requisite interventions for women’s inclusion in the blue economy in the global south: A case study of India. Marine Policy, 171, 106476. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2024.106476

McGarry, D., & Droomer, C. (2025). Flotation devices re-stor(y)ing haunted South African Ocean Herstories through mending as a decolonial love language. Environmental Communication, 19(1), 29-44. https://doi.org/10.1080/17524032.2024.2433073

Michael McKay, R., Otieno Manyala, J., Nunan, F., Nyamweya, C., Jane Awuor, F., & Njiru, J. (2024). Introduction to the special section: Aquatic resources for a sustainable future and blue economy prosperity for the African Great Lakes region. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 50(5), 102413. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jglr.2024.102413

Midlen, A. (2024). Enacting the blue economy in the Western Indian Ocean: A ‘collaborative blue economy governmentality’. Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space, 7(2), 627-653. https://doi.org/10.1177/25148486231198010

Moura, G. G. M., & Diegues, A. C. S. (2024). The faces of the capitalist modernization of fishing in the Far South of Brazil from a perspective of socioenvironmental oceanography (1940s to 1990s). Latin American Perspectives, 51(3), 26-48. https://doi.org/10.1177/0094582X241260047

Movik, S. (2024). Contested coastal commons and blue spatial justice: Enclosures, rescaling, and resistance in Northern Norway. International Journal of the Commons, 18(1), 39-52. https://doi.org/10.5334/ijc.1240

Mwanyoka, I. R., Said, M. K., Higini, K. P., & Kaswamila, A. L. (2025). Artisanal fishers and seaweed farmers’ engagement in Blue Economy in Zanzibar. Marine Policy, 174, 106587. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2025.106587

Nemzoue, P. N. N., de Almeida, N. M., Freire, G. S. S., Tchouankoue, J. P., Noucoucouk, A. A., & de Medeiros Lima, R. (2024). Benthonic assembly and its correlation with the geodiversity of the east continental shelf of Ceará (Brazilian equatorial margin). Quaternary and Environmental Geosciences, 15, 49-61. https://doi.org/10.5380/qeg.v15i0.93438

Obando Campos, A., & Latorre, S. (2024). Reconversion or Exclusion? The effects of blue economy policies on semi-industrial and artisanal fishing in Puntarenas, Costa Rica. Latin American Perspectives, 51(3), 69-88. https://doi.org/10.1177/0094582X241285386

Ounanian, K., & Howells, M. (2024). Deconstructing and resisting coastal displacement: A research agenda. Progress in Human Geography, 48(5), 636-654. https://doi.org/10.1177/03091325241240581

Pollard, E., Bates, R., Comte, J. C., Graham, E., Lubao, C., Munisi, N., & Ichumbaki, E. B. (2025). Climate change, coastal heritage digitization, and local community engagement at the Ruins of Kilwa Kisiwani World Heritage Site, Tanzania. Journal of Field Archaeology, 50(1), 6-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/00934690.2024.2439219

Queirós, A. M., Talbot, E., Msuya, F. E., Kuguru, B., Jiddawi, N., Mahongo, S., Shaghude, Y., Muhando, C., Chundu, E., Jacobs, Z., Sailley, S., Virtanen, E. A., Viitasalo, M., Osuka, K., Aswani, S., Coupland, J., Wilson, R., Taylor, S., Fernandes-Salvador, J. A., Van Gennip, S., Senkondo, E., Meddard, M., & Popova, E. (2024). A sustainable blue economy may not be possible in Tanzania without cutting emissions. Science of the Total Environment, 947, 174623. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.174623

Queiroz, T. D. C., Yokoyama, L. Q., & Dias, G. M. (2024). Does the incorporation of shell waste from aquaculture in the construction of marine facilities affect the structure of the marine sessile community? Marine Environmental Research, 198, 106484. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2024.106484

Ramadhan, A., Oktavia, P., Miftakhul Huda, H., Pramoda, R., Apriliani, T., Suardi, I., Maharani Putri, H., Koeshendrajana, S., Karomah Yaumiddin, U., & Eko Nugroho, A. (2025). Integrating local knowledge for inclusive blue economy: Opportunity and challenge of institutional bricolage. Australian Journal of Maritime and Ocean Affairs. https://doi.org/10.1080/18366503.2024.2350790

Regan, N., Francis, P. M., Fredrick, O., Farida, M., & Gordian, R. M. (2025). Coastal mariculture: Status, challenges, and future perspectives of Milkfish (Chanos chanos) farming in Tanzania. Iranian Journal of Fisheries Sciences, 24(1), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.22092/ijfs.2024.132008

Regassa, A. (2022). Frontiers of extraction and contestation: Dispossession, exclusion and local resistance against MIDROC Laga-Dambi gold mine, southern Ethiopia. The extractive Industries and Society, 11, 100980. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exis.2021.100980

Reis-Filho, J. A., Hatje, V., & Barros, F. (2024). Navigating blue justice: Policy gaps and conflicts in coastal development from small-scale fisher perspectives. One Earth, 7(10), 1786-1802. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2024.07.014

Robin, R. S., Debasis, T., Hariharan, G., Ramesh, R., & Purvaja, R. (2024). Harnessing the blue economy in Lakshadweep Islands through a sustainable tourism perspective. Current Science, 126(2), 215-221. https://doi.org/10.18520/cs/v126/i2/215-221

São-João, T. M., Cygler, A. D., Cooke, K., McCann, J., & Arcoleo, K. J. (2024). Health and behavior factors, quality of life and productivity among commercial fishermen in Rhode Island, US: A research framework. International Maritime Health, 75(3), 181-189. https://doi.org/10.5603/imh.99754 https://doi.org/10.5603/imh.99754

Sari, D. N., & Oktora, S. I. (2025). Construction of blue economy development index at the provincial level in Indonesia using exploratory factor analysis. Barekeng: Journal of Mathematics and Its Application, 19(1), 603-616. https://doi.org/10.30598/barekengvol19iss1pp603-616

Shalli, M. S., Mmochi, A. J., Rubekie, A. P., Yona, G. K., Shoko, A. P., Limbu, S. M., Mwita, C. J., Lamtane, H. A., Hamed, S. S., Jiddawi, N. S., & Mapenzi, L. L. (2024). The contribution of milkfish (Chanos chanos) pond farming to socio-economics and coastal community livelihoods for a sustainable blue economy in Tanzania. Aquaculture International, 32, 4915-4931. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10499-024-01408-4

Silva, H. J. H. D., & Pierri, N. (2024). Mariculture policies and ocean grabbing in Brazil. Latin American Perspectives, 51(3), 151-168. https://doi.org/10.1177/0094582X231186147

Sofyani, H., Pratolo, S., & Saleh, Z. (2022). Do accountability and transparency promote community trust? Evidence from village government in Indonesia. Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, 18(3), 397-418. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAOC-06-2020-0070

Suharyanto, Fauzi, A., Adrianto, L., & Wahyudin, Y. (2024). Developing marine tourism policy pathways: The case of super priority marine tourism destinations in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia. International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning, 19(10), 3809-3819. https://doi.org/10.18280/ijsdp.191010

Sukran, M. A., Kurniawan, T., Basri, H., & Furqan, A. (2025). Exploring marine tourism on sustainable development segment in indonesia: SPAR-4-SLR. Geojournal of Tourism and Geosites, 58(1), 243-256. https://doi.org/10.30892/gtg.58121-1406

Suripeddi, S., Surathkal, P., Jyotishi, A., & Bhatta, R. (2025). Accumulation by dispossession: Evidence of shrinking space for small-scale fishers of Karnataka coast. Maritime Studies, 24, 4. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40152-024-00396-8

Syarif, E., Marlina, & Saputro, A. (2024). Environmental friendship levels of Bajo Fishers to build a blue economy in achieving the 2030 SDGs. EnvironmentAsia, 17(2), 38-49. https://doi.org/10.14456/ea.2024.19

Vasto, P. M. H. D., & Peñaloza, J. L. (2025). Coastal zone management indicators for sustainability in ten Latin American countries [Indicadores de gestión de zonas costeras para la sostenibilidad en diez países Latinoamericanos]. European Public and Social Innovation Review, 10, 1-22. https://doi.org/10.31637/epsir-2025-1026

Venugopal, V., Das, B. S., & Sridhar, A. (2024). Recentering the commons: assessing citizen mapping as an environmental practice. Maritime Studies, 23, 16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40152-024-00353-5

Voronkova, V., Nikitenko, V., Sobol, Y., Oleksenko, R., Zelenin, Y., Kravchenko, O., Levchenko, L., & Yukhymenko, N. (2024). The digital transformation of the most dynamic region in the world (China, Malaysia, India) as a key factor in economic development within the context of industry 5G: Trends, challenges, and strategies. Pakistan Journal of Life and Social Sciences, 22(1), 1522-1531. https://doi.org/10.57239/PJLSS-2024-22.1.00105

Wasik, Z., Gunawan, S., & Handriana, T. (2024). Blue Economy and the Impact of Industrialisation on sustainable livelihoods: A case study of fisheries in the North Coastal Region of Java. Journal of Ecohumanism, 3(8), 2729-2744. https://doi.org/10.62754/joe.v3i8.4925

Whittingham, J., & McGarry, D. (2024). Mapping for connection, a life beyond mapping for control: lessons from ‘mapping-as-performance’ with Empatheatre in South Africa. Frontiers in Marine Science, 11, 1320493. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2024.1320493

Woźniacka, K., Kerametsidis, G., López-López, L., Möllmann, C., & Hidalgo, M. (2024). Spatial structuring of Mediterranean fisheries landings in relation to their seasonal and long-term fluctuations. Marine Environmental Research, 197, 106453. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2024.106453

Wyckoff, K., Moazeni, F., Khazaei, J., & Banerjee, A. (2025). Economic dispatch of offshore renewable energy resources for islanded communities with optimal storage sizing. Renewable Energy, 241, 122153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2024.122153

Downloads

Published

2025-08-15

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 4 (2025): October - December

Section

Article

Categories

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Maritime Technology and Research

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Copyright: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0