NUSANTARA BIOSCIENCE ISSN: 2087-3948 Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 91-99 E-ISSN: 2087-3956 May 2021 DOI: 10.13057/nusbiosci/n130113 Strategy for marine ecotourism development based on natural resource management: Case study in Kotania Bay, Western Seram District, Maluku, Indonesia HENDERINA LELLOLTERY 1 , MAMAN RUMANTA 2,♥ , RONY MARSYAL KUNDA 3 1 Department of Forestry, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Pattimura. Jl. Ir. Putuhena, Poka, Ambon 97233, Maluku, Indonesia 2 Program of Biology Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Universitas Terbuka. Jl. Cabe Raya, Pondok Cabe, Pamulang, Tangerang Selatan 15418, Banten, Indonesia. ♥ email: mamanr@ecampus.ut.ac.id, ronykunda@gmail.com 3 Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Pattimura. Jl. Ir. Putuhena, Poka, Ambon 97233, Maluku, Indonesia Manuscript received: 10 February 2021. Revision accepted: 14 April 2021. Abstract. Lelloltery H, Rumanta M, Kunda RM. 2021. Strategy for marine ecotourism development based on natural resource management: Case study in Kotania Bay, Western Seram District, Maluku. Nusantara Bioscience 13: 91-99. The study aimed to identify the potential for marine ecotourism in Kotania Bay, and formulated strategies and priorities for developing marine ecotourism in Kotania Bay. Data collection on ecological potential consisted of mangrove and fauna vegetation using the line transect method, while coastal and marine resources included coral reefs and reef fish using the Line Intercept Transect (LIT) method. Development strategies and priorities used the SWOT and AHP methods. The results showed that the potential of coastal natural resources around the Kotania Bay consisted of 12 mangrove species belonging to7 families with species diversity index 1.76, and dominated by Rhizophora mucronata and Bruguiera cylindrica. The bird species were 33 species belonging to 23 families, with several endemic species such as Philemon subcorniculatus, Eulipoa wallacei, Birgus latro, and Pteropus melanopogon. Potential marine water resources consisted of 45 coral species belonging to 23 genera and 14 families with 10-12 life-forms. The diversity of reef fish species was quite abundant consisting of 129 species from 60 genera and 22 families. The sand beach on Marsegu island is a tourist destination that is demanded by the tourists. SWOT analysis showed that the potential of coastal and marine natural resources in Kotania Bay is very likely to be developed as marine ecotourism. Keywords: Ecotourism, Kotania Bay, priority, strategy INTRODUCTION Maluku is categorized as an archipelago that has 1,450 islands with high natural resources. Most of these islands are small islands that have abundant coastal natural resource potentials such as beautiful beaches, mangrove ecosystems, coral reefs, fishes, seagrass, and various other marine and coastal biota. The resources are very potential to be developed but vulnerable to over-used. Therefore, the right strategy is needed in the development process so that there is no damage to natural resources and it still provides significant benefits to the community and the environment. One alternative that can be considered is through the use of environmental services based on marine ecotourism (Baiquni 2013). Ecotourism in coastal and marine areas contributes to the economy of local communities and supports conservation and protection actions of coastal and marine ecosystems (Walters and Samways 2001). Efforts to develop marine ecotourism in small islands of Maluku can be done by considering the very abundant potential of natural resources. Baiquni (2013) stated that small islands can be ecotourism destinations since they provide abundant natural resource potential. The concept of ecotourism can broadly minimize negative impacts on the environment, by providing positive experiences to the community and visitors, then contributing to the benefits of economic empowerment to the community (Das and Chatterjee 2015). One of the ecotourism destinations in Maluku is the Kotania Bay of the West Seram District. Kotania Bay is located among five islands, i.e. Marsegu, Osi, Burung, Buntal, and Tatumba. Marsegu and Osi islands are quite famous tourist destinations. This is due to the coastal natural resources and potential marine in the form of mangrove ecosystems, white sand beaches, coral reefs, reef fish, seagrasses, and various marine biota. These resources can be a potential object and attraction for tourists. The area around Kotania Bay is designated as a marine conservation area with the status of Marsegu Island Nature Tourism Park (Nature Conservation Agency Indonesia, 2014). The potential of coastal natural resources from the region is not optimally developed for ecotourism activities. This is caused by various factors such as minimal infrastructure and the construction of conventional thinking about the concept and view of optimal uses of the coastal resources. Facts on the ground show that the limited government support can be seen from the lack of regulations regarding tourism activities. Lack of regulation greatly impacts the development process of ecotourism in Kotania Bay is getting slower. To develop the potential of