Pulau Panggang is an inhabited island in Kepulauan Seribu islands, on the off-shore of Jakarta. With a 12-hectare in total area and 350 persons/Ha in density, Pulau Panggang becomes one of the densest small islands in Indonesia. Around 55% ( 4.200 inhabitants, on 2016) are subsistent fishermen. In addition, members of households are also petty traders of daily needsand/or working in the main land (greater Jakarta area). However, Pulau Panggang is also a part of Kepulauan Seribu Marine National Park (KSMNP), which means that some restrictions to its utilization are also applied.

The combined challenge of rapid population growth (2.3%/year) and low carrying capacity of the island (limited availability of fresh water, electricity and land) has led to multiple problems. The problem of housing, for instance, is traditionally answered by practicing two approaches: traditional reclamation (by piling coral, sand and local waste), and/or 2-3 close families inhabiting a house. With this reclamation method, an additional 3 Ha of reclaimed land had been earned in the last 10 years.

Our on-going action research was intended to fill the gap concerning models of sustainable housing and livelihood for small islanders that is also conservation friendly. Initiated since 2016 by Universitas Tarumanagara, this research has been supported by Local Government and local community. To meet such a purpose, three stages have been taken. First, identified the needs of the community and the parties, using such methods as in-depth interviews. Second, conducting continued communication and negotiations with concerned parties in order to formulate acceptable criteria for housing, livelihood and conservation. Third, discussions and selection of alternative models of housing and livelihood. Results obtained is expected to meet the ultimate purposes of resilience against changes in environmental settings in one hand and sustainable housing and livelihood in the other.