Towards sustainable management of Lake Singkarak, Indonesia: System analysis and research priorities

Abstract

The water use conflicts characterize the inefficiency of the lakes as common pool resources (CPR); therefore, consensus-based collaborative management is one of the best alternative solutions. Tropical lakes supporting multipurpose uses such as clean water sources and fisheries for rural people have diverse and unique characteristics which complicate their management. We engaged the Ecosystem-Based Management-Drivers Pressures States Ecosystem Services Responses (EBM-DPSER) framework to analyze the complex system of Lake Singkarak, Indonesia as a study case. The framework is also used to interlink the system with the Ecosystem Services Framework. This link is crucial to conduct economic valuation of the alternate management responses. We classified several management issues based on the perspectives of local stakeholders and researchers. We highlight our findings, that there are significant discrepancies among the focus and perception of local stakeholders and researchers. The differences result in inefficiency of research fund allocation. Current research activities are focused on biophysical aspects, which have different emphasize with stakeholders’ concerns. Therefore, they do not directly answer decision makers’ questions. The constructed framework aids to align these discrepancies by listing prioritized future research to aid solving the disputes and to promote evidence-based decision making in the lake. We expect that the use of the framework can aid the development of scientific-based consensus management and aid future monitoring and evaluation of various management responses.