Contribution of local governments to a national commitment of the Aichi Biodiversity Target 11: the case of West Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia

AbstractAs a mega-biodiversity country, Indonesia ratified the United Nations Convention of Biological Diversity in 1994, and by so doing, Indonesia is obliged to meet Aichi Biodiversity Target 11. The target states: ‘by 2020, at least 17 per cent of terrestrial and inland water areas and 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services, are conserved through effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative and well-connected systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, and integrated into the wider landscape and seascape’. Indonesia has been committed to set aside 20 million hectares of its coastal and marine waters for biodiversity conservation by 2020, en route to achieving the national target of at least 30 million hectares in the future. Here we demonstrate how the development and expansion of marine protected areas (MPAs) at the local level is crucial if the national government...