Project 4 case study site is located in Taka Bonerate Selayar Islands Biosphere Reserve, which was designated as a UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere site in 2015. The area is a mini archipelago of 130 islands in South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia with 60 village-level marine protected areas, covering 52 coastal villages, a national marine park, 11 sub-districts, 57 coastal Villages and 74 non-coastal villages.
With a total of 17,504 islands, Indonesia itself is the largest archipelago in the world. Its coasts and seas stores enormous potential, not only from a diverse range of marine ecosystem services, but also from their significant renewable energy resources. Whilst the national electricity company (PLN) has a mandate to supply all of Indonesia’s communities with a reliable and consistent source of electricity, it has significant challenges in achieving 100% coverage, particularly in remote areas. Many of these areas are inhabited by small maritime communities who live nearby marine energy potential that can be utilised to meet their local demand for electricity supply, as well as to meet their energy requirements for aquaculture, water desalination, ice production, and refrigeration, which are essential for their sustainable livelihoods.
The Project aims to investigate the possibility of, and introduce where appropriate, marine renewable energy systems as part of an integrated solution to obtaining Taka Bonerate-Selayar Islands’ local community welfare whilst protecting the natural ecosystem and mitigating the challenges of climate change. For this, baseline information on energy supply and demand, natural resources governance, and local businesses and supply chain have been gathered this year, and throughout the next 3 years Project 4 team members will continue to engage in participatory planning and action research with local community members, decision makers, government officials, local businesses, and academic partners to produce:
- Identification report on Taka Bonerate Selayar Islands Biosphere Reserve’s energy demand-supply profile
- Joint paper publication on marine renewable energy resources potential in Taka Bonerate Selayar Islands Biosphere Reserve
- Training modules on approach to renewable energy assessment in remote communities
- Training modules on marine renewable energy systems conceptual design in remote communities
- Strategic report on marine renewable energy systems for Taka Bonerate Selayar Islands Biosphere Reserve
- Strategic report on skills development needs to establish local business case and supply chain in Taka Bonerate Selayar Islands Biosphere Reserve
- Strategic report on marine spatial planning recommendations for Taka Bonerate Selayar Islands Biosphere Reserve
- Policy brief for Local Government Departments and Indonesia’s relevant Ministries
- Joint paper publications on relationships between sustainable energy and resources management in relation to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets
By Dr Leuserina Garniati, Centre for Sustainable Energy and Resources Management, Universitas Nasional
Source: www.blue-communities.org
