Konservasi Indonesia
The sustainable use of seaweed resources is essentially a management goal that ensures the level of resource utilization does not cause damage or exceed its recovery capacity, thereby allowing it to meet the needs of both current and future generations. This study was conducted from July 2022 to January 2023 at several coastal locations engaged in seaweed farming in East Sumba Regency. The study measured five dimensions: economic, technological, social, institutional, and ethical. Each dimension consisted of several attributes analysed using Rapseaweed analysis. The results showed that one dimension needed improvement, namely the ethical dimension, with a sustainability index score of 39.8%. Meanwhile, the other four dimensions showed sustainability index values ranging from fairly sustainable to highly sustainable. The economic dimension had an index score of 70.26%, placing it in the fairly sustainable category. The technological dimension had a sustainability index score of 75.50%, categorized as highly sustainable. The social dimension had a sustainability index score of 84.15%, also categorized as highly sustainable. The institutional dimension achieved a sustainability index score of 94.18%, classified as highly sustainable, while the ethical dimension had a sustainability index score of 39.8%, categorized as unsustainable. Based on the results of the study, it can be concluded that seaweed farming activities in East Sumba Regency, East Nusa Tenggara Province, are in a highly sustainable condition. In order to improve the sustainability status, policymakers should consider the main attributes that have high leverage, which include by-products, conservation areas, conflict levels, community participation, security and waste disposal.
