Coastal Development in Transition:

Ethics and Empowerment of Post CCDP-IFAD Programs

in Northern Gorontalo, Indonesia
Sukarman Kamuli1, Basri Amin2, Liem Gai Sin3
1,2
State University of Gorontalo
3
Ma Chung University
Correspondence Email: sukarman_kamuli@ung.ac.id

Abstract. The development ethics in Indonesia is currently undergoing

serious inconsistencies. Apparently, the overall well-being and sustainability
do not always run concurrently. More comprehensive policy approach and
development method are required to overcome several transition problems.
The CCDP-IFAD Project between 2012 and 2017 for coastal areas in Eastern
Indonesia is one of the interesting strategies to combat them. It successfully
implemented the effective principles of participation and collaboration
despite besetting with some organizational transition problems. This study
reveals a transition period after the full implementation of the CCDP at the
local level as a result of some arising unmonitored issues. The expertise in
managing the asset production and market access is yet to be fully
developed. The problems gave a pragmatic illustration that completed
transition period would fully determine the developmental practices thereby
promising a long-term prosperity. This study concludes on the need for new
capabilities in the coastal development organizations in Indonesia by
mentoring the government’s various resources and analyzing groups’
initiatives.

Keywords: Coastal Development, Development Ethics, Empowerment,

Gorontalo, Indonesia

1. INTRODUCTION
The development ethics has been critically discussed since the 1990s with
lots of studies and theories developed. Some of these studies include
Crocker (2008) and Marquez (2005) on the aspects of development
agency and capability. A different analysis focuses on sustainability
(Marangos & Astroulakis, 2009), on institutional basis, global
responsibility, and risk problems (Van Ufford and Giri, 2003), on the
participation of non-government groups (Kamstra and Schulpen, 2015),
and of human growth and security (Gasper and Truong, 2005). However,
one can hardly find any publication that explicitly explains the most
appropriate development ethics or development programs involving
international donors, local communities, central and local governments,
and private sectors.

Since the 1970s, the development ethics has placed emphasis on the
basic human needs that must be fulfilled by the state and on the
dimensions of shared solidarity over humanity living on this planet
(Marangos & Astroulakis, 2009; Scalapino. 1994; Grindle, 1980). In
addition, emphasis has also been placed on the ethical dimension
developed to reach the rights of the community. Sen (1999) argued some
of the most challenging conceptual development in his Development as
Freedom. This book places emphasis on community capability to carry out
 various developmental engagements.
Indonesia is always challenged by crisis, predicaments, and difficulties
when it comes to the state’s involvement in coastal development. These
predicaments are not only related to its consistency in finding the right
model of community empowerment and the proper role of the state and
its policies, but also the choices of available conflict resolution and the
dominant control and counterproductive role of the state (Warren &
Visser, 2016; Warren, 2016; Zaelany & Wahyono, 2010; Visser, 2008). On
a larger scale, the community development tends to meet excessive
regulations in a micro level of financial intervention (Tajuddin, 2022;
Laitupa, 2018; Tjilen, et.al, 2018). Every formulated plan is dependent on
"will to improve" despite the fact that it is still put forward unilaterally
and without proper dialogue (Li, 2007).

This research work makes use of the pilot project case known as the
CCDP-IFAD in Gorontalo to illustrate how the transition aspect processes
to form a new stagnation that seems unpredictable. On the other hand,
the transition could also be as a new space that mediates, intervenes and
negotiates with the coastal communities in managing all assets left by the
CCDP project. In this research study, the experience of communities
working with a controlled and accompanied system is an invaluable
resource for sustaining their welfare. Furthermore, it is also an arena
where ethical questions about coastal development in Indonesia are
bound to come up.

2. RESEARCH METHOD
This research made use of the qualitative approach in its methodology.
Data was collected through observation and by conducting semi-
structured interviews. The data collection was carried out from May to
July 2018 in Gorontalo, Badung of Bali, and Makassar. A total of 15 key
informants in five community groups were interviewed intensively. Data
obtained were reduced in a descriptive manner before the classification
stage, submission of interpretations and conceptual connections. The
meanings found through the analysis process are displayed thematically
according to the context surrounding the field of data obtained (Berg,
2007; Dey, 2005).

Interviews conducted were accompanied by village facilitators, CCDP

consultants, and CCDP executives in Jakarta and Gorontalo officials of the
Marine and Fisheries Service. The thematic analysis was also carried out
using the qualitative research procedures including: (1) determining the
unit of analysis; (2) intensive interviews and observations; (3) determining
the selected cases; and (4) utilization of community group documents,
consultant reports, officially published national reports, and media
publications.

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

CCDP- IFAD in Indonesia, 2012-2017
The Coastal Community Development Program (CCDP) came into
inception in 2012. It was founded by the International Fund for
Agricultural Development (IFAD) with its head office located in Rome,
Italy. IFAD is a United Nations agent specialized in the international
financing sector and specifically concerned with the transformation and
sustenance of rural development. The CCDP project was launched on
October 23, 2012, with an IFAD loan of US $ 24.2 million, an IFAD grant of
US $ 2 million, and a Spanish Trust Fund (STF) loan of US $ 7.8 million. The
Indonesian government contributed to the CCDP funding of US $ 7.1
million, while good minded citizens gave out donations of US $ 2.1
million. The total amount used to fund the CCDP was around US $ 43.2
million. This was one of the historic projects in Indonesia to be the first
time IFAD had funded a program for coastal communities (Ginting &
Budiman, 2016).

The project aims at reducing the increasing poverty rate through

sustainable economics based on local superior commodities, and to
improve the environmental conditions of coastal communities. A total of
13 districts/cities in 9 provinces in the Eastern Region of Indonesia
benefited from this project. Badung Regency, Bali, was used as a learning
center. Its districts fulfilled the various requirements associated with high
poverty level, marine and fisheries resources, small islands, market
access, and good motivation and participation.

The CCDP-IFAD project selected Eastern Indonesia due to the fact that the
socio-economic conditions of coastal communities were predominately
made up of poor people with about 40% of its population. This is the main
reason why IFAD funded the program. It also covered people living on
several small islands, including those with geographical locations adjacent
to urban areas.

However, several publications of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and

Fisheries indicate that various work ethics, potentials and work
motivation amongst people living in these coastal communities is of
outstanding value. Their constraints generally include limitations of
capital, access to business centers, availability, and market. In a report
presented by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, a number of
direct assistance (fees and equipment) have proven not to have a
significant impact on the welfare level of coastal communities since the
1990s. Unfortunately, at the same time the decline in the quality of the
coastal environment continues. It could be seen in the widespread
destruction of mangrove forests and coral clusters, as well as in the
intensification of illegal fishing activities and agricultural practices causing
severe damage to coastal ecosystems and islands.

Several studies have shown that the downturn in coastal development is

provoked by weak integrated participatory approach adopted by the
government (Dahuri, Rais, Ginting, & Sitepu, 2008). According to Kay and
Alder (2000), the government tends to ignore women and young
fishermen. For quite a long time, community participation has been
inadequate. On the other hand, the financial and technological assistance
offered to fishing communities are poorly sustained by reason of poor
accompaniment. As a result, the commodities developed on the coast,
such as seaweed, tend to fail to make the most of the increasingly large
market demand at the world level.
The approach adopted by CCDP-IFAD in Indonesia has been
acknowledged due to it places community participation and assistance at
the village level in high esteem for proper and intensive operation
(Halimah, et al, 2021). The local governments, marketing consultants,
group/village facilitators, several community leaders and other
government agencies occupy a central role to take in the CCDP-IFAD
project management structure.

The CCDP-IFAD project planning, monitoring and evaluating mechanism

have been strategically designed in a multilevel manner through village,
district, provincial and national levels. At all levels of CCDP-IFAD
management, the participation factors, tiered reports, documentation
and administration, as well as the monitoring system are intensively
executed. The factual reports obtained from the field were mostly the
object of collective discussion in online group facilities, workshops,
exhibitions and other communication channels. CCDP-IFAD even have
made PCR (Project Completion Report) and Annual Outcome Survey in
their knowledge management using independent experts.

According to the data from observations and interviews, almost all parties
involved in CCDP-IFAD confidently proved that this pilot project was
successful. The project was in line with the evaluation carried out by
IFAD's head office and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. The
CCDP program was successfully carried out and with its model worth
replicating nationally.

By financing 13 coastal districts and 181 villages in Eastern Indonesia, this

project seemed to have brought a huge impact. Several national and
international events were created to share this success story. Some media
houses and official publications owned and managed by the CCDP-IFAD
main office in Jakarta also shared the story. It implied the quantitative
evaluation of the program. Tremendous success was achieved through a
special method of Result & Management System (RIMS) which is
emphasized by quantitative analysis, qualitative narratives and extensive
visual data.

Until the CCDP-IFAD terminated its activities at the end of 2017, there
were a total of 181 villages, 56 sub-districts, and 2,171 community groups
with 19,828 members accepting the beneficiaries of its project. According
to the IFAD assessment, the CCDP program in Indonesia was a success at
the Asian Pacific level and globally. It is also currently referenced by many
countries (Ginting & Budiman, 2018).

North Gorontalo: Rich in Resources yet Poor in Institutions

With a coastline of around 310 kilometers, surrounded by 52 islands and
with a population of around 112,975 people in 2017, North Gorontalo is a
strategic area in the northern region of Sulawesi. Not less than 11 sub-
districts with a total of 123 villages in coastal areas for aquaculture
activities and fisheries. It is one of the potential fishery areas located in
the Celebes Sea and in the Pacific Ocean, with a total of about 328,164
tons of fishes every year. However, since 2012 the number has drastically
reduced with a maximum number that could be achieved only between
the ranges of 21,883 tons to 25,000 tons. According to socioeconomic
indicators, about 18% of the total population of North Gorontalo are poor
fishery farmers with 2,666 households (Kamuli & Amin, 2018; Biro Pusat
Statistik, 2017).

The CCDP-IFAD project in North Gorontalo resulted to a number of

significant changes at the level of the coastal community. A sum of Rp.
7,200,000,000 was evenly distributed to a total of 1,520 fishermen
families to assist them in purchasing fishing equipment, fish and seaweed
processing equipment, manufacturing production facilities and facilitate
them in receiving training to improve the quality of their production and
marketing networks. The community groups that benefited were 178
groups in total with about 1,583 members spread across 10 sub-districts.
Towards the end of the CCDP-IFAD project, community groups, village
facilitators, consultants and the Office of Marine and Fisheries formed a
fishing cooperation called Koperasi Padu Alam Laut (PAL Cooperative).

Development Ethics: Empowerment, Institution and Sustainability

What happened in North Gorontalo demonstrates several illustrations
that are not only ethically relevant but also useful at a practical level. It is
quite clear that there is a huge gap between what was originally planned
and documented as an "exit strategy" (according to the CCDP-IFAD
version) and what actually happened as a phenomenon of "development
transition".

Despite the fact that all the development activities initiated by the state
and stimulated by international donor agencies such as IFAD ideal dreams
and operational designs, the dilemmas in the field should be analyzed for
further study. The local capacity for responding to transitional periods is
the most determining factor to see whether a long-term impact will
continue to be maintained and generate the additional capacity based on
local community experience.

At the end of the CCDP-IFAD project in 2017, all assets and projects during
its 5 year programs were unanimously agreed to be managed by a PAL
Cooperative. This was formally agreed by all parties involved in this
project, including the local government. This cooperation has also been
approved and appreciated by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and
Fisheries as a right decision since 178 groups of fishermen had been
formed in North Gorontalo. These groups consisted of fishermen, fish and
seaweed processing groups, as well as a number of farmers and
marketing groups who are ready to develop their superior products.
Many of them had had business management skills.

No one anticipated that the crisis would come so fast in North Gorontalo.
Few months to the end of 2017 and with the national closure of CCDP
project, PAL Cooperatives begin to stagnate. This instability proceeded
from July 2018 to early August 2018. The activities of CCDP-IFAD suddenly
stopped. Its assets such as ice factories, production houses, seaweed
press machines and cold storage were abandoned. According to the Office
of the Marine and Fisheries Service, this cooperative has been completely
jammed and will be reformed in its organizational structure. To find an
adequate solution, the Office of the Cooperatives and Small Businesses at
the District level in conjunction with all members of the cooperatives, will
hold a meeting to arrange a new board and restore the cooperative.
Though this might seem difficult to achieve, and likely result to a new
crisis with an impact on the failure of coastal economic organizations in
North Gorontalo, however it is worth a try.

Empirically, all maintenance and productive functions of all assets left

have failed to hold. It is quite tragic indeed, since the leader of this
cooperative was an experienced former community companion and a
native of North Gorontalo community. In fact, this cooperative has a
strong legality, since, in addition to being supported by the District
Government, it is also legally recognized by a Notary with a business
license.

The Vulnerability in Development

The sustainability development should be conceived not only as a
concept, project, and plan, but also as a responsibility that requires
prowess in various sectors. The transition period - also known as post
CCDP-IFAD - is an ethical obligation naturally answered and examined by
all stakeholders due to its extensive influence on both the community and
society. This is a calling for ethical discussions on the dynamics of local
development in Indonesia.

Vulnerability is the most obvious factor during the transition period. Even
though the CCDP-IFAD program has been operating for five years, the
institutional capacity and the independence of the community are still
very vulnerable. This vulnerability is just not only in terms of the
capabilities of their business organizations at the group level, but also in
the capacity of local countries in managing the partnerships. It includes
the cooperative organization operation at the district level. When the
majority of operating businesses are no longer running effectively, their
ability to utilize abandoned infrastructures suffers. This is the most
tangible evidence for the vulnerability of coastal economic empowerment
efforts in Eastern Indonesia.

There were three other regions in Indonesia that benefited from the
CCDP-IFAD program: Makassar in South Sulawesi; Badung Regency in Bali;
and West Lombok District in Nusa Tenggara. Despite their shared fortune
in benefiting from the program, their post-project transition stories were
quite diverse. The three regions had successfully managed their
cumulative resources and production assets for mid-2018 (field notes,
July 2018).

There are three important points learnt from Bali, Makassar and West
Lombok. These are related to leadership, the local government’s
commitment, and group capacity’s ability to manage their organizational
and personal relations. Regarding these three points, all assets had the
capability to function as continuous production forces, as well as to obtain
consistent support from the local government. As relationships were
strengthened and support was obtained from local group leaders, it was
possible to utilize all available market information and communication
technology.

In this case, it is essential to explore the issue of women’s agency. In a

broader perspective, this study argues that women’s empowerment
programs – through the use of the process of sustainable
institutionalization – should be based on existing resources. Through
strong institutionalization, community-based empowerment
sustainability, it will find its ideal economic scale, i.e. as the social capital
of coastal communities whose growth is nurtured by a combination of
families, communities, partnerships, mentoring, and cluster-based
participative policies of countries with efficient financing (Kamuli & Amin,
2018).

In the context of coastal economic empowerment, the group welfare

could achieve sustainably due to the availability of new capacity builders
in organizing businesses. In this study, we understand how diversification
of business and – in regards to market shocks and weather changes – the
resilience of coastal communities are significant. These inconsistent
conditions are faced with family-based economic risk management and
social network utilization among fishermen. Through cooperation with
the fishermen, they used the provided facilities (Badung, Bali). These
achievements – along with a dynamic phase – require certain routines at
all levels. This, then, leads to the emergence of ownership,
communication, and control over organizational resources (Piening,
2013).

The failure felt by North Gorontalo is at least a valuable lesson for this
region and other regions involved in a large project that aims to change
the economic status of the community, women's participation, improve
environmental carrying capacity and market access. It is important to
note, however, that the complexity occurring at the local level must be
considered at the outset.

Even though there was involvement of international agents, such as IFAD

in North Gorontalo, Makassar, and Bali, the impact period varied in each
region. To summarize, the program was relatively successful in Makassar
and Bali; this is measured by the impact of services provided by the local
government such as community welfare and the sustainability of
supporting polices. Gorontalo, however, failed due to the lack of strong
leadership in directing the economic momentum they had gained through
the project.

Thus, all resources and experiences of community groups over the five
years project in North Gorontalo did not provide maximum meaning due
to the feeble assistance from the local government and group leadership
at the village and sub-district levels. In fact, in some groups of women and
local entrepreneurs (fisheries), they already had new capacities in utilizing
machinery, equipment, market access and production skills which they
have built for many years.
More importantly, however, North Gorontalo had an “exit strategy”
document declaring that a business with inclusive accommodations –
especially those that feature the interest of fishermen, women’s groups,
and local entrepreneurs – has been established since late 2017. This
document has also been officially received by the Ministry of Maritime
Affairs and Fisheries of Jakarta. Unfortunately, the leadership of the
fishing cooperative failed due to lack of assistance from the local
government of North Gorontalo. At this level, the organizational capacity
of the provincial and central government has not succeeded in preparing
policies that oversee the transitional period in North Gorontalo. In fact, as
stated in the beginning of the process, North Gorontalo did not yet have
strong local leadership in the coastal economic sector.
At the beginning of 2019, nearly all assets of the women’s groups and
business have received financial assistance, training business equipment
in North Gorontalo. However, a small amount of them had been managed
well. They no longer bolstered the ability of their groups to strengthen
their economic productivity. After conducting several interviews, we
witnessed that there was currently an increase in public distrust of
government driven programs. People tended to be apathetic, and they
would continuously mention bad experiences after Gorontalo’s CCDP-
IFAD program. Conversely, especially upon looking at Bali and Makassar, it
concludes that North Gorontalo needs a new “social scenario” that allows
the economic work ethic base to develop.

Finally, we argue that development ethics will be tested before

implementation when all parties show mutual concern. It would allow
reflection and cooperation by exceeding their respective administrative –
institutional interest and community needs. Through this process, known
as "emergent ethics" (Van Ufford & Giri, 2003), the state and local-
economic stakeholders would provide a productive interaction and
sensitivity in order to realize a new concern on the community’s welfare,
citizen’s life and concern (Scalpino, 1994).

4. CONSLUSIONS
The Indonesia's coastal development initiated by the CCDP-IFAD program
had experienced a huge transition since its end in 2017. Although the
program consisted of numerous activities tailored to provide strong socio-
economic indicators, and improve the economic livelihood of the people
living in North Gorontalo, the research found out that most fundamental
resources left were institutions, infrastructure, and leadership.

The local governments are the most important agents who should be
aware of the development ethics in a transition period as seen in 13
districts in Eastern Indonesia. As stated by the literature review on
development studies, two key conditions are used to determine whether
the ethical dimension is realized or not in development practice. These
key elements revolve around responsibility and sensitivity to
vulnerabilities that occur in local scale of development (Mosse, 2005; Van
Ufford & Giri, 2003; Escobar, 1995). In this study, the ethical call is a vital
topic of discussion. Not all regions assisted by the CCDP-IFAD project
produce the same organizational capacity, especially regarding
organizational adaptation, commitment of community groups and local
government in managing all assets, local leaders, and experiences left by
 this program

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