PapuaAround.com – Raja Ampat Regency is known not only for the natural beauty of its small islands, but also for its marine life which is supported by the world’s Coral Triangle.
The Raja Ampat Islands are a series of four contiguous island groups located in the western part of the Bird’s Head, on the Bird’s Head Peninsula or the plains of the Provinces of West Papua and Papua.
The Raja Ampat Islands are managed by the Raja Ampat Regency, West Papua Province.
Raja Ampat consists of 610 islands, of which only 35 are inhabited.
Meanwhile, 80% of Raja Ampat is covered by clear blue sea which is rich in underwater life, especially coral reefs.
Raja Ampat is the Heart of the World’s Coral Triangle
The Raja Ampat area is 80% water and is rich in underwater biota, especially coral reefs and is included in the world’s coral triangle.
The world’s coral triangle triangle is located in the Raja Ampat archipelago, covering 1.6% of the earth’s ocean area and covering an area of 5.7 square kilometers, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon Islands and East Leste.
It is called the Coral Triangle because if you draw a virtual line that covers the coral reefs in these countries, it will form a triangle.
The Coral Triangle has more marine species richness than any other body of water on Earth, and is home to 76% of the world’s coral reef species and 37% of the world’s reef fish species.
The Coral Triangle is said to have the largest mangrove forest in the world.
Meanwhile, according to Oceanographic data from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences and the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), the area of coral reefs in Indonesia reaches 39,583 square kilometers or about 45.7% of the total coral reef area of 86,503 square kilometers in the Coral Triangle, and Another 590 rock coral species, as well as reef fish species are among the highest peaks in biodiversity.
The location of the Raja Ampat Coral Triangle is also home to 75% of all mangroves or mangroves worldwide, and 45% of seaweed species.
Tonny Wagey, Director of the Indonesian Climate Change Trust Fund (ICCTF), said that in this world’s coral reef triangle, Raja Ampat is not only unique in its coral reefs, but the Raja Ampat area is the center point.
“Why did we choose Raja Ampat and need to protect it? Because this is a (world) coral triangle, there are more than 500 species (coral reefs), and the middle point (center) is here, Raja Ampat,” said Tonny, Tuesday (23/3/2022).
Located in the heart of the coral triangle, Raja Ampat is a center for marine biodiversity and is considered a center for tropical marine biodiversity.
Functions of the Raja Ampat Coral Triangle
There are an estimated 553 coral species in the Raja Ampat sea, home to more than 70% of the world’s coral species.
Not only that, but it is also home to 1,456 species of reef fish, making Raja Ampat the richest area in the world for reef fish species.
There are also 699 species of molluscs, 5 species of turtles and 16 species of marine mammals (cetaceans). Among the 699 species of molluscs, 530 species of snails (gastropods), 159 species of mussels (bivalves), 2 species of scaphoda, 5 species of squid (cephalopods), and 3 species of chitons.
According to the Records of Biodiversity and Marine Conservation of the Directorate General of Marine Spatial Management of the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP), Raja Ampat’s coral reef ecosystems are in shallow shelf on almost all of the islands.
However, the largest areas are West Waigeo, South Waigeo, Ayau, Samate and South East Misool.
Types of coral reefs found in the Raja Ampat Islands are generally in the form of fringing reefs, with quite steep slopes. In addition, there are also types of ring reefs (atolls) and barrier reefs (barrier reefs).
“Raja Ampat is the center of the world’s reef triangle, the area with the greatest biota diversity in the coral reef triangle area. Although it covers less than 1% of the world’s oceans, the impact is very significant,” he explained.
“Raja Ampat is the Amazon rainforest in the ocean, because six of the seven endangered sea turtle species are still found in the waters of Raja Ampat,” he added.
In addition, there are also 17 other world marine mammal species in the area and the surrounding community who still depend on them as fishermen to find fish around coral reefs for their livelihoods.
If coral reefs are well maintained, marine biota, including reef fish, will be able to live well and reproduce in large numbers.
On the other hand, if coral reefs are damaged or intentionally damaged by the same human activities, then humans will also suffer losses.
Damaged coral reefs will not be beautiful, tourists will not want to visit them, even though the Raja Ampat Islands area is one of the most popular water attractions for local and foreign residents.
Damage to coral reefs will also cause fish and coral biota to be neglected or die so that anglers find it difficult to find them, where 80% of the population of Raja Ampat Regency are fishermen.
“If we don’t handle it and we don’t do it now, it will have an impact on us,” he explained.
Not only for aquatic creatures, coral reefs are also a source of protein for humans thanks to the fish that grow in this area.
In Indonesia, about 60% of animal protein comes from fish, which means around 120 million people depend on fish supplies in the waters as their food source.
This does not include revenue streams of US$2.4 million from the fishing industry and US$12 million from tourism businesses in Southeast Asia, including Komodo Island and the Raja Ampat Islands.
Therefore, the function of coral reefs in general is to maintain the balance of natural ecosystems, maintain environmental health, provide sociological, economic influence, and for the survival of people’s lives.