Research helps with roadmap to support blue economy and seaweed industry in Indonesia

Findings from the Partnership for Australia-Indonesia Research (PAIR) program are being used to help drive growth in the blue economy of Sulawesi, Indonesia.

According to the head of the Department of Marine and Fisheries of South Sulawesi (DKP Sulsel), Muhammad Ilyas, says a draft seaweed industry roadmap considered PAIR recommendations, helping to inform policy on this valuable industry.

The findings have also provided insight into the latest condition of South Sulawesi’s seaweed farming industry.

The PAIR office in Makassar worked with AIC partner, the University of Queensland, to develop the document, with support also coming from DKP Sulsel (the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Service).

The roadmap explains the value of a seaweed-driven blue economy and notes key PAIR topics including managing plastic waste and satellite mapping of cultivation areas.

Dr Ilyas was a member of an advisory group to the PAIR researchers and is confident the roadmap will have a positive impact.

“The South Sulawesi Seaweed Industry Roadmap is very necessary for its development of short, medium and long term targets,” Dr Ilyas said.

He noted recommendations in the roadmap that match those from PAIR, including prioritising eco-friendly flotation devices and improving community waste management through education.

Dr Ilyas also noted the value of PAIR recommendations regarding the use of satellite imagery in seaweed farming.

“This tool can help in verification and as a validator of seaweed production data reported by each district on a monthly or annual basis,” Dr Ilyas said.

“Satellite data can be used to predict the amount of seaweed production in South Sulawesi.”

A growing industry

Seaweed is a lucrative industry for South Sulawesi province and Indonesia more broadly; it is estimated that more than a million people rely on seaweed for a living.

Demand for the seaweed extract carrageenan is strong given its use as a gelling agent in many processed foods. The United Nations trade and development body (UNCTAD) has estimated the global market for seaweed being in the order of US$17 billion.

However, like any under-developed industry there are many challenges to make it more beneficial and sustainable.

The Partnership for Australia-Indonesia Research (PAIR) program investigated several issues affecting the sector, including pollution, seed availability and sustainability.

Pollution, for example, can come in the form of microplastics with plastic bottles used as flotation devices breaking up and becoming a biohazard.

As South Sulawesi produces more seaweed than any other Indonesian province (3.8 million tonnes in 2023), Dr Ilyas said the industry was a large component in unlocking the potential of its ‘blue economy’.

Dr Ilyas said PAIR research fitted neatly with the idea of solving problems through the involvement of government, academia, private sector, non-government organisations and the community more broadly.

PAIR Co-Investigator and senior scientific officer at Universitas Hasanuddin, Radhiyah Ruhon said work towards a seaweed roadmap was reflective of a need for better information sharing between industry stakeholders and government departments.

She said seaweed industry progress had at times been “stymied by lack of transparent information that would allow for better policy framing and decisions around logistics and infrastructure”.

Ms Ruhon noted several key PAIR findings that were important in allowing for the sustainable development of the seaweed roadmap.

These include a more effective policy landscape, using technology to track industry data, research and farmer education.

Ms Ruhon said the seaweed roadmap could play a significant role and they were “currently reviewing the seaweed roadmap document together with DKP”.

The importance of the Indonesian seaweed industry was highlighted recently with the announcement at the World Water Forum in Bali of the International Tropical Seaweed Research Center.

Seaweed reports prepared by PAIR research are listed below:

• End-of-life of plastics used in seaweed aquaculture in South Sulawesi | PAIR (australiaindonesiacentre.org)
• Capacity building and knowledge transfer in seaweed mapping in Indonesia | PAIR (australiaindonesiacentre.org)
• Creating fairer trade in South Sulawesi’s seaweed supply chain ecosystem | PAIR (australiaindonesiacentre.org)
• Sustainable upgrading of the South Sulawesi seaweed industry | PAIR (australiaindonesiacentre.org)
• Review of vocational education and training programs in informing the future seaweed industry in South Sulawesi | PAIR (australiaindonesiacentre.org)
• Developing a rapid assessment for seaweed qualities | PAIR (australiaindonesiacentre.org)

Feature image by PAIR.