Empowering fisher self-governance for sustainable marine resource management in the context of illegal tin mining threats

Abstract Marine resources possess characteristics of common-pool resources (CPRs), which often present management challenges such as unequal access and the potential for overexploitation. The greatest current challenge is the increasing activity of illegal tin mining in marine areas, which places significant pressure on the capture fisheries sector and disrupts local community autonomy. This research was conducted in Dusun Lama, Dusun Baru, and Dusun Pon Pasir, Penagan Village, Bangka Regency, Indonesia. This study aims to identify local community autonomy practices for protecting resource sustainability from the threat of illegal tin mining in marine areas. We found that the autonomy practices of the Pon Pasir community have succeeded in maintaining their rights to marine resources. Meanwhile, the rights held by the fishing communities in Dusun Baru and Dusun Lama have weakened and shifted to external parties, resulting in ongoing tin-mining operations. Based on these findings, we observe that self-governance in a coastal community can diverge in opposing directions as a result of extractive economic pressures.