Mekko Waters in Dusun 3 Pledo Village, Witihama District - East Flores are waters with high occurrence rates for blacktip reef sharks (Carcharhinus melanopterus) and white-tip reef sharks (Triaenodon obesus) (WWF-Indonesia Report, 2018). In its management, Mekko Waters is one of the areas reserved as a Marine Protected Area (MPA) based on the Decree of the Governor of East Nusa Tenggara Number: 308/KEP/HK/2017 concerning Marine Nature Reserve Conservation Areas of East Flores Regency.

Mekko Waters also has White Sand Island (gosong) which is one of the Tourism Attraction Objects (ODTW) in East Flores Regency. Not only White Sand Island is an ODTW in Mekko Waters, at the end of 2017 with the facilitation of WWF-Indonesia, together with the Bangkit Muda Mudi Mekko group and the community of Dusun 3 Pledo Village conducted a participatory mapping where there were 13 new ODTW in Mekko Waters and 6 alternative ODTW that could be developed to improve the welfare of the community and increase the original income of Pledo Village.

With the potential of natural resources in the village and efforts to support the management of the East Flores Regency Marine Nature Reserve MPA, the Pledo Village Government initiated the drafting of a Village Regulation (Ranperdes) on the development of village marine ecotourism. The regulatory material in the Ranperdes on the development of village marine ecotourism includes planning, utilization and control strategies with due regard to social, economic, ecological principles and stakeholder involvement.

One of the interesting things in the control strategy is the protection of village marine ecotourism objects for the sustainability of the potential of natural resources in the waters. In its regulation, the protection of village marine ecotourism objects is the protection of commodity objects (sharks, turtles, dolphins, dugongs, mobulid rays, manta rays, whales, seabirds, bats, corals and white sand), ecosystem objects (coral reefs, mangroves, seagrasses, Keroko Island, Watopeni Besar Island, Watopeni Kecil Island and Kepun Island) and activity objects (capture fisheries, aquaculture, socio-culture, historical relics and historical stories). In addition to protection, supervision and handling and conflict resolution are part of the control strategy in the development of marine ecotourism in Pledo Village.

Sanctions regulated in the Ranperdes on marine ecotourism development are categorized based on the type of violation. Violations that occur are subject to sanctions in the form of administrative sanctions, social sanctions and fines. However, for violations in the form of fishing using fishing gear that is not environmentally friendly and is destructive to the ecosystem of Mekko Waters, it will be processed in accordance with applicable laws.

Another regulation initiated by the Pledo Village Government related to tourism development and community welfare improvement is the Ranperdes on retribution for village business services. The regulatory material in the Ranperdes contains several types of retribution, including retribution for recreation and sports venues, special parking lots, lodging places, water crossings and docks. The regulation on retribution for business services in the village provides a basis for levying on the use of facilities and services provided by the village government.