Social–Ecological Outcomes of Lake Management Policy Implementation: Evidence from Lake Tempe, Indonesia

Abstract

Lake management policy in developing countries increasingly couples large engineering interventions with commitments to community welfare, yet the ecological and social results of such policies are rarely assessed within a single analytical frame. This study examines the implementation of lake management policy at Lake Tempe, Wajo Regency, Indonesia, through four social–ecological dimensions: social ecology, community economy, culture and local wisdom, and social institutions. A qualitative descriptive design was applied in three lakeside sub-districts, combining in-depth interviews with eleven purposively selected informants from technical agencies, village government and lakeside households, participant observation, and document analysis, with data examined through reduction, display and verification. The findings show an asymmetric pattern of implementation. Dredging and river normalisation raised storage capacity and lowered flood peaks in treated reaches, but continuing sedimentation, untreated domestic and agricultural loads, and unmanaged aquatic weed growth confine ecological recovery to specific locations. Economically, gear restrictions and tighter control of floodplain land reduced fishing and farming returns while replacement assets and enterprise support did not arrive, leaving the tourism potential of the lake unconverted. Culturally, seasonal use rights inherited from long-standing local practice are increasingly read as private ownership, so routine enforcement escalates into disputes. Institutionally, mandates are dispersed across sectoral agencies with weak coordination, and decisions over water level are made without a shared forum, which concentrates costs on households that cannot influence them. The policy is therefore implemented as a technical programme rather than a social–ecological one, and its ecological gains remain reversible without corresponding investment in livelihoods, recognition of local rights and coordinated institutions.