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). Administratively, Raja Ampat is part of the Raja Ampat Regency, West Papua Province, Indonesia. The islands are now the destination of the divers who are interested in the beauty of the underwater scenery. Four islands are members named by the four largest islands, namely Pulau Waigeo, Misool Island, Salawati Island, and Island Batanta.
History of Raja Ampat
The name of Raja Ampat by local myth comes from a woman who found seven eggs. Four grains of which hatch into four princes who separated and each became a powerful king in Waigeo, Salawati, East Misool and West Misool. Three other eggs became a ghost, a woman, and a stone.
According the history, Raja Ampat have long been inhabited by fishermen and apply the Maluku culture. In this culture, the community is a member of a village community. Each village is headed by a king. Since the founding of two Muslim sultanates in the Maluku, Raja Ampat to be part of the Sultanate Tidore claims. After the defeat of the Dutch Empire Tidore, Raja Ampat Islands became part of the Dutch East Indies claim.
Natural Resources of Raja Ampat
Raja Ampat islands have 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 Raja Ampat are 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 Papua.
The population of Raja Ampat species, 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 impact
s of global warming issues.
Powerful ocean currents carry larvae from Raja Ampat to reefs in other parts of Indonesia and the Pacific, this is become Raja Ampat the source of the “supply chain” of species. In other side, it can help to replenish other reefs which have been damaged by disease, bleaching, overfishing, and other detrimental activities.
Conserving Raja Ampat
Raja Ampat governments and stakeholders require support to improve effective, sustainable coastal and marine resources management that conserves biodiversity while benefiting Raja Ampat people.
Now, 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, Conservation International (CI) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) as well as the Indonesian government’s Coral Reef Rehabilitation and Management Program (COREMAP) are facilitating the management of the 7 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) recently declared in Raja Ampat.
WWF (The World Wide Fund for Nature) 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 Raja Ampat and other islands of Papua Indonesia.
How to Get to Raja Ampat
To visit to Raja Ampat islands is not too difficult although it takes time and considerable expense. We can use the airline flight from Jakarta to Sorong via Manado for 6 hours of flight. From Sorong-town for exploring the Raja Ampat, there are two choices, go on tour with the Pinisi boat or stay in the resort Papua Diving.
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