HOW
TO GET TO RAJA AMPAT ISLANDS
The
easiest way to get to Raja Ampat is to fly to Sorong via Jakarta or
Singapore. Domestic travelers can also fly via Makassar or Manado.
From Jakarta or Bali:
Merpati, Express Air and Lion/Wings operate daily flights from Jakarta
to Sorong (with stopovers in Ujung Pandang/Makassar and/or Manado)
From Singapore:
Silkair operates regular flights from Singapore to Manado. From Manado
to Sorong regular flights are offered by Lion Air and Merpati.
It
is easiest to check with a local Indonesian Travel agent or directly
with the airline for the lastest domestic flights available.
Help
Conserve Raja Ampat
— Get Your Entrance Tag today!
The Raja Ampat Regency
Government is proud to announce the
introduction of a tourism entrance fee
system to help support conservation and
community projects within Raja Ampat. All
tourists entering Raja Ampat are required to
purchase an entrance tag.
The entrance fee for foreign visitors is Rp
500,000/person/year (approximately US$55)
for which they will receive a waterproof
plastic entrance tag featuring a photo from
Raja Ampat. All Indonesian visitors from
outside Raja Ampat are required to pay Rp
250,000 and will receive an entry card. The
annual tags and cards will be valid from
January 1st until January 31st of the
following year.
The tag system has been adapted from the
very successful Bonaire and Bunaken Marine
Park systems. The 2008 tag features an
endemic pygmy seahorse, one of over 1200
fish species found in Raja Ampat—the most
biodiverse marine region in the world
recorded to date. Visitors are required to
carry their tags or cards at all times—tags
can be easily fixed to guests’ snorkeling or
diving gear or to their dive bag. The
entrance fee system will be enforced through
spot checks conducted by official patrols.
The money collected is managed by a
multistakeholder management team (Tim
Pengelola) and is divided between tourism
development, conservation, and community
health projects.
We greatly appreciate your support and
cooperation with this fee system.
Conservation of Raja Ampat’s spectacular
marine habitats and biodiversity requires
long term funding. In addition, the local
communities who own these reefs need to see
direct benefits of tourism through community
programs that will improve their quality of
life.
Tim Pengelola,
Sorong Airport
Tel +62 81 317 242084 | Fax +62 951 331786
CONSERVATION IN RAJA AMPAT
The Raja Ampat Archipelago is
known as the “crown jewel” in the Papuan
“Bird’s Head Seascape” (named for the
distinctive shape of the northwestern
section of the island of New Guinea), an
area with unparalleled marine biodiversity.
As of September 2008, current species
tallies for the Bird’s Head include over
1356 species of coral reef fish (including
1223 in Raja Ampat alone and at least 25
endemics known only from this region), 600
species of hard coral (75% of the world’s
total and over ten times the number of coral
species found in the entire Caribbean), and
57 species of mantis shrimp (including 8
endemic species known only from the Bird’s
Head). Other important features of the
Bird’s Head include karst forests full of
rare orchids, birds of paradise, tree
kangaroos, regionally-important green and
hawksbill turtle rookeries, whale and
dolphin aggregations, and the world’s
largest Pacific Leatherback Turtle nesting
beaches in the Jamursbamedi-Warmon coast of
the Northern Bird’s Head.
As more is discovered about Raja Ampat, its
global significance continues to grow. There
is now clear evidence that the coral around
Raja Ampat may be naturally more resilient
to fluctuations in temperatures, and thus
more likely to withstand the impacts of
global climate change. Powerful ocean
currents carry larvae from Raja Ampat to
reefs in other parts of Indonesia and the
Pacific, making Raja Ampat the heart of the
“supply chain” of species. This transport
may help to replenish other reefs which have
been damaged by disease, bleaching,
overfishing, and other detrimental
activities.
Without question, Raja Ampat and the broader
Bird’s Head Seascape rank as global
priorities for marine conservation!
Until fairly recently, Raja Ampat’s
isolation and low human population have
played a large part in keeping its reefs
healthy and thriving. However, the region’s
rich coastal and marine resources have made
it a target for economic development ranging
from fisheries and marine tourism, to more
destructive activities such as oil and gas
exploration, mining and logging. And thus
the paradox of Raja Ampat – world unique,
globally outstanding, literally bursting at
the seams with biodiversity - yet highly
threatened.
Local governments and stakeholders require
strong support in developing effective,
sustainable coastal and marine resource
management that conserves biodiversity while
benefiting local communities. To date, that
support is coming from a highly dedicated
team of over 200 international and local
conservation NGO staff focused on improving
the management of Raja Ampat. Working in
concert with the local and national
government and other local institutions and
stakeholders, two international conservation
NGOs, and TNCas well as the Indonesian
government’s are facilitating the management
of the 7 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)
recently declared in Raja Ampat and local
NGO, Papuan Sea Turtle Foundation, play a
key role in sea turtle conservation in the
archipelago. In addition, the three
international NGOs—CI, TNC and WWF—have an
ambitious partnership throughout the Bird’s
Head Seascape.
Together, these organizations have focused
on a comprehensive three-pronged approach to
conservation in Raja Ampat.
The first initiative has centered on the
scientific characterization of Raja Ampat,
including its biodiversity and the important
large-scale ecological and oceanographic
processes that influence this diversity.
Besides generating world record species
lists and describing dozens of new and
endemic species, this initiative has also
succeeded in revealing patterns of genetic
and oceanographic “connectivity” that are
critical to understand in order to develop
plans to manage the region’s marine
resources in a sustainable manner.
The second set of strategic conservation
activities, conducted simultaneously with
the scientific characterization of Raja
Ampat, has focused on creating an “enabling
environment” for effective conservation and
collaborative management of Raja Ampat’s
rich marine resources. Over the past 3
years, the various conservation teams have
worked intensively with the local government
and citizens in the 90 remote villages of
Raja Ampat to both better understand their
development aspirations and align them with
a sustainable vision for the area while also
dramatically increasing local understanding
and appreciation of Raja Ampat’s
biodiversity, the threats to it, and the
need for local leadership in effectively
managing it. So far, the response of local
traditional leaders and village chiefs has
been overwhelmingly positive. To learn more
about some of these outreach and education
programs
The final strategic initiative (based upon
the scientific understanding and strong
local community support generated by the
first two strategies) has been to facilitate
the establishment of an
ecologically-connected network of marine
protected areas (MPAs) across Raja Ampat. In
May 2007, the Raja Ampat government declared
a network of seven MPAs that together covers
nearly 900,000 hectares and approximately
45% of Raja Ampat’s coral reefs and
mangroves. Effectively implemented, these
MPAs should ensure the long term health and
sustainability of Raja Ampat’s marine
ecosystems. One outstanding achievement has
been the work of the local NGO, Papua Sea
Turtle Foundation, which has run a highly
successful turtle nest program in the major
rookery of Sayang-Piai in the Kawe MPA,
effectively eliminating turtle poaching and
protecting over 2000 green turtle nests in
the past 2 years.
These three initiatives have made impressive
progress over the past 5 years, but there is
still much work to be done. Raja Ampat’s MPA
network needs to be “operationalized” and
the restrictions on destructive and
unsustainable fishing practices strictly
enforced.
Marine tourism development must be carefully
managed to provide optimal benefits for
local communities while minimizing its
“footprint” in the area. Perhaps most
importantly, we face a continuous uphill
battle to impress upon policy-makers and
community leaders the need to wisely
conserve and manage this area, as the
seemingly inexhaustible global demand for
commodities ranging from fish to minerals to
timber products continues to create strong
short-term financial incentives to mine all
of these resources from Raja Ampat.
Hopefully, with the continued dedication of
conservation NGOs, the local and national
government, and local stakeholders, and the
firm support of the marine tourism sector,
the reefs of Raja Ampat will continue to
thrive.
Source :
www.diverajaampat.org
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