Governing the Blue Economy through Village Regulations: A Coastal Conservation and Resilience Approach from Indonesia

The blue economy has become a central policy framework for promoting sustainable use of coastal and marine resources, yet its implementation is often constrained by centralized and sectoral governance that fails to address local socio-ecological conditions in coastal areas. This study examines how village-level legal instruments can function as effective governance mechanisms for advancing coastal conservation, strengthening community resilience, and operationalizing blue economy principles at the local scale. Using a socio-legal and multi-level governance approach, this research draws on legal and policy analysis, field observations, semi-structured interviews, and focus group discussions conducted in three coastal villages in Gresik Regency, Indonesia. The analysis focuses on how village regulations are formulated, how they structure institutional roles, and how they integrate conservation objectives with local economic activities such as mangrove-based ecotourism, fisheries, and village-owned enterprises. The findings show that village regulations play a critical role in translating national blue economy and coastal management policies into locally enforceable conservation and governance practices. By legally embedding sustainability principles, participatory mechanisms, and ecosystem-based zoning into village rules, these regulations enhance protection of coastal ecosystems, support equitable benefit sharing, and strengthen institutional dimensions of coastal resilience. However, their effectiveness depends on legal harmonization with higher-level spatial planning and adequate institutional capacity at the village level. This study contributes to coastal conservation and governance scholarship by demonstrating how village-level legal frameworks can function as adaptive and scalable instruments for integrating conservation and development in coastal communities. The village-based regulatory model proposed offers policy-relevant insights for decentralized coastal states seeking to strengthen blue economy implementation while safeguarding fragile coastal ecosystems.