Towards a Sustainable Metamorphosis of a Small Island Tourism: Dynamizing Capacity Building, Alternating Governance Arrangements, and Emerging Political Bargaining Power

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Isye Susana Nurhasanah, Pieter Van den Broeck

2022 Sustainability (Switzerland) Vol. 14 Issue 12 Article Cited by 16 SDG 17SDG 16SDG 8 Quartile

Abstract

This study examines how local agents (non-profit-seeking actors and residents of Pahawang Island) developed empowering methods to address ecological problems during the island’s transformation from a small, secluded island to a tourist destination. Building capacity through grassroots initiatives, bottom-linked collaboration, and improved political bargaining power were critical components, constituting the conceptual framework to analyse the data. The socio-spatial shift in Pahawang Island reflects the nature, degree of involvement, and participation of multiple stakeholders. Slowly and gradually, bottom-up and later bottom-linked institutional efforts were implemented to lay the groundwork for a more sustainable ecology, social economy, and political transformation. Capacity building was dynamized by including it in a social innovation process, bottom-linked governance, and stimulated empowerment, which altered the governance, political bargaining power and policymaking power balance. Under these conditions, collaborative grassroots learning and action efforts can be a virtuous panacea for improving the sustainable governance of small islands, which is frequently disregarded in a neoliberal society. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Affiliations

Department of Architecture, KU Leuven, Leuven, 3001, Belgium; Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Institut Teknologi Sumatera, Lampung Selatan, 35365, Indonesia

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