VZCZCXRO7810
RR RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #1289/01 1840428
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 020428Z JUL 08
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9448
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 8475
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2171
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 5182
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2712
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 4709
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC

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 
 
JAKARTA 00001289  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
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