By: Toufik Alansar (MPA Network Specialist) and Adella Adiningtyas (Marine & Fishery Campaign and Social Media Assistant)

The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) honored regional heads of conservation area managers for their hard work in supporting and developing marine, coastal and small island conservation areas in an event titled Anugerah E-KKP3K: Towards Effective and Prosperous Conservation Area Governance on Friday, December 11.

The E-KKP3K Award is given to local governments and regional heads who consistently develop marine protected areas. The awards consist of 1 Favorite category, 5 pilot categories, 3 special categories, and 17 acceleration categories.

On this occasion, five marine protected areas in WWF-Indonesia's working areas were also awarded for their commitment and efforts in realizing effective and prosperous conservation areas. The award was presented by the Director of the Directorate General of Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, Directorate General of Marine Spatial Management, KKP, Agus Dermawan. The five areas are:

• Koon-Neiden Regional Marine Conservation Area located in Koon, Grogos, Nukus and Neiden Islands, a group of small islands, East Seram Regency, Maluku Province;
• Conservation Area for Coastal and Small Islands Kei Kecil Island and its Surrounding Waters, Southeast Maluku Regency, Maluku Province;
• Pantar Strait and Surrounding Sea Conservation Area, Alor Regency, NTT Province;
• East Flores Regency Regional Waters Conservation Area, East Flores Regency, NTT Province; and
• Territorial Marine Conservation Area of Southeast Sulawesi Province, Southeast Sulawesi Province;

The Pantar Strait and Surrounding Sea MPA received the E-KKP3K award for the second time. After 2013 received the E-KKP3K award for the National Pilot Area Category, and this year again proves that Alor Regency still exists and is focused on managing its conservation areas.

The results of the E-KKP3K assessment, show that the management of the Pantar Strait MPA and the surrounding sea is increasing from year to year. This is evident from the fact that this MPA was only reserved in 2013 and was officially designated in 2015.

There are 110 Conservation Areas under the authority of local governments that are included in the E-KKP3K assessment following the biannual agenda of the Ministry of KP coming from all over Indonesia. Until now, about 17 million ha of Marine, Coastal and Small Island Conservation Areas have been achieved throughout Indonesia. It is not only beauty and sustainability that we can enjoy when visiting these conservation areas. We can also chat with indigenous people around the conservation area.

Let's conserve conservation areas in Indonesia together with effective management!