Understanding land-use change is imperative in the management of Indonesian coastal ecosystems with numerous environmental impacts generated from land-use conversion. To assess these impacts in holistic perspective, we use three sources of data, land cover change, policy maps, and interviews, to triangulate the main issues. Combining these sources, we analyze land-use changes in the past based on perception interviews and secondary data from the government spatial plan policy map and observable land-cover. In Tanjung Batu and Derawan Island we found that local populations were more aware of the changes related to infrastructure development, but that there are discrepancies between assigned and actual land-use, illustrating the value of a triangulated framework.