The Village funds are part of the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget which are allocated for villages and disbursed through the district/city expenditure budget. During the period of 2015-2018, two village heads (village of Malang Rapat and Penaga) were the suspects of corruption cases in Bintan District in the province of Riau Islands. There was no evaluation of the use of the village funds by the district government. The objective of this study was to gain an insight into the use of village funds in the province of Riau Islands. The study problem was how to evaluate the use, impact, and constraints in the utilization of village funds in the province of Riau Islands in 2018 (Case study in Bintan District and Lingga District). This study used a qualitative descriptive method, using interviews and observations for data collection. The results showed that a large portion of village funds was used for physical development in the village, while human development in the village was not yet properly implemented due to the limited allocation of village funds for empowerment and community development. The impact of village funds felt by the community for the addition of physical facilities in the village was significant, while the impact on empowerment and economy of the community was not. The constraints of the usage of the village funds were regulation, human resources, and coordination.

The archipelagic province’s maritime development has thus far been disproportionately attributed to fisheries and primary marine activities, restricting the evaluation of the ideal maritime sector optimization within the economy. The maritime notion and its scope apply to activities in more diverse fields. It accords with experts' conceptual and theoretical definitions and the Indonesian legal perspective as well). This study aims to assess the extent to which maritime performance optimization has occurred throughout the Riau Islands Province based on seventeen activities. Using a well-known quantitative technique, i.e., Location Quotient, Shift-Share, Overlay, and Klassen's Typology, we found that maritime optimization performed differently in each district and municipality of the Riau Islands Province. Based on the results, Batam is the region with the best maritime sector performance, followed by Bintan, Tanjungpinang, Karimun, and Lingga. Meanwhile, Anambas and Natuna are relatively lagging. In addition, the study results show that the optimization of the maritime sector is not limited to the creation of added value in primary outputs such as fisheries, mining, and quarrying. It also considers secondary and tertiary maritime activities such as manufacturing, trade, and services such as sea transportation, accommodation, food, and beverages, where there are many marine tourism activities. In addition, the results suggest that maritime sector optimization is not restricted to creating added value in the primary output but also secondary and tertiary.

Hubungan pemerintah pusat dan daerah di Indonesia selalu diwarnai dinamika dan konflik. Saat ini,  salah satunya datang dari Provinsi Kepulauan Riau yang ingin memanfaatkan kewenangan 12 mil laut yang diamanatkan dalam UU 23 Tahun 2014 tentang Pemerintahan Daerah. Provinsi Kepulauan Riau mengaktualisasikan  kewenangan ini melalui Perda No 9 Tahun 2017 Tentang Perubahan Kedua Atas Perda Nomor 1 Tahun 2012 Tentang Retribusi Daerah. Salah satu retribusi yang dipungut adalah retribusi labuh jangkar. Rencana pemungutan retribusi ini menimbulkan konflik antara Pemerintah Provinsi Kepulauan Riau dengan Badan Pengusahaan Batam dan Kementerian Perhubungan. Masing-masing pihak mengklaim memiliki kewenangan untuk memungut. Kajian ini  membahas sumber konflik dan memetakan pihak-pihak terlibat dalam konflik pengelolaan labuh jangkar di Provinsi Kepulauan Riau dan dinamika dan konflik kewenangan antara pemerintah pusat dan daerah dalam pengelolaan labuh jangkar di Provinsi Kepulauan Riau tahun 2017-2020.. Teori yang digunakan dalam kajian ini adalah teori desentralisasi dan konflik. Kajian ini menyimpulkan ; pertama, konflik antara Pemerintah Pusat dan Pemerintah Provinsi Kepulauan Riau dalam pengelolaan labuh Jangkar di Provinsi Kepulauan Riau Tahun 2017-2020 disebabkan oleh : a. Lambatnya Pemerintah dalam menerbitkan PP tentang kewenangan provinsi di laut dan daerah provinsi yang berciri kepulauan sebagai amanat UU 23 tahun 2014 Tentang Pemerintah Daerah, b. Tumpang tindih dan ketidaktegasan aturan perundang-undangan yang mengatur tentang pengelolaan labuh jangkar. c. Kementerian Perhubungan belum menyerahkan kewenangan pengelolaan labuh jangkar ke Pemerintah Provinsi Kepulauan Riau. d. Pemerintah Provinsi Kepulauan Riau belum menerbitkan Peraturan Gubernur tentang Petujuk Teknis Pengelolaan Labuh Jangkar. Kedua, Pihak-pihak yang terlibat dalam konflik pengelolaan labuh jangkar di Provinsi Kepulauan Riau ini antara lain : a. Badan Pengusahaan Batam. b. Pemerintah Provinsi Kepulauan Riau ; Gubernur, DPRD dan Dinas Perhubungan. c.  Pemerintah Pusat ; Kementerian Perhubungan dan Kepala Syahbandar dan Otoritas Pelabuhan (KSOP) di Provinsi Kepulauan Riau.

This study discusses the implementation of decentralization that triggers conflict. The case study is the conflict in the management of anchorage in the Riau Islands Province in 2017-2022. This conflict occurred between the Ministry of Transportation (central government) and the Riau Islands Provincial Government (local government). The findings of this study indicate that the conflict between the two parties occurred due to overlapping, mutual claims of authority to use marine space for the anchorage area. This conflict is further complicated by the different interpretations of nine government agencies on anchor management policies. This difference occurs vertically and horizontally. This study shows the strengthening of the dominance of the central government in the era of decentralization in Indonesia, this indicates a shift in the decentralization pendulum towards re-centralization.