Social capital, interactive governance and coastal protection: The effectiveness of mangrove ecosystem-based strategies in promoting inclusive development in Demak, Indonesia

Abstract

While there is considerable literature on coastal adaptation, there is less scholarly attention for how social capital, interactive governance, and ecosystem-based approaches can be combined to promote inclusive development. Hence, this paper examines contemporary efforts to protect coasts in Demak, northern Java, Indonesia, which are threatened by coastal erosion induced flooding, through large-scale planting of mangroves. We argue that the success of such ecosystem-based approaches depends on wide-spread civil society participation. Our analysis of the structure of bonding, bridging and linking capital in Demak reveals that although some local groups may lack bonding and bridging capital, their ability to acquire linking capital enables them to monopolise resources from the state and international NGOs for mangrove plantings; this negatively effects the cohesion of the coastal protection program and therefore its effectiveness and inclusiveness as mangrove groups protect their own areas. The paper shows that an understanding of the social capital of different local groups can enable a better understanding of how to engage them in ecosystem based governance.