Raja Ampat

Located at the northwestern tip of the Bird's Head Peninsula on the island of New Guinea, in Indonesia, West Papua, Raja Ampat, or King Four, an archipelago of more than 1,500 small islands, cays and shelves around the four main islands Misool, Salawati , Batanta and Waigeo, and small island Kofiau. It covers more than 40,000 km ² of land and sea, which also contains Cendrawasih, the largest marine national park in Indonesia. This is part of the newly named West Papua (province) of Indonesia formerly Irian Jaya. The islands are the northernmost piece of land on the continent of Australia.


According to Conservation International, marine survey showed that the diversity of marine life in the area of Raja Ampat is the highest recorded on Earth this diversity. much larger than other regions such as the Coral Triangle of Indonesia, the Philippines and Papua New Guinea. Coral Triangle is the heart of the world's biodiversity of coral reefs, making Raja Ampat is probably the richest coral reef ecosystems in the world.


Regional large coral colonies along with sea surface temperature is relatively high, also showed that the coral reefs which may be relatively resistant to threats like coral bleaching and coral disease, which now jeopardize the survival of coral reef ecosystems around the world. Raja Ampat islands are remote and relatively undisturbed by humans.

The diversity of the high seas in Raja Ampat is strongly influenced by its position between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific, as the coral and fish larvae more easily shared between the two oceans. Raja Ampat's coral diversity, resilience, and its role as a source of spread of the larvae makes it a global priority for marine protection.

1309 species of fish, 537 coral species (a remarkable 96% of all scleractinia recorded from Indonesia are likely to occur on islands), and 699 species of mollusks, a surprising variety of marine life. Some areas boast a large school of fish and regular sightings of sharks, such as wobbegongs.

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