Trouble lurks for Indonesia's 'last paradise'
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A tourist snorkles over a coral reef in
Raja Ampat's Mansuar Island located in Indonesia's Papua region. The
archipelago is referred to by some as the "last paradise on Earth".
Huts on stilts perch above the coral of the turquoise
lagoon, hammocks awaiting a lazy siesta and sunset cocktails. The
Indonesian archipelago of Raja Ampat is a modern-day garden of Eden. But
for how long?
This remote pearl of Asia between the Pacific and Indian oceans in
Indonesia's Papua province has remained a closely guarded secret and one
of the last frontiers of tourism, known only to intrepid travellers and
avid divers.
Raja Ampat's palm-fringed islands, surrounded by an underwater
kaleidoscope of coral and fish, are described by the regional tourism
office as "the last paradise on earth".
A 2002 report by US-based Conservation International (CI) classed the waters as "potentially the world's richest in terms of marine biodiversity," with nearly 1,400 varieties of fish and 603 species of coral.
The 610 rocky islets of Raja Ampat -- meaning Four Kings in
Indonesian -- are scattered over an area of 4.5 million hectares (11
million acres) and boast 750 kilometres (450 miles) of pristine sandy
beaches.
"It's the best diving in the world," said Pam Roth, an enthusiast for
33 years. "I like the remoteness of the place. You don't see a lot of
people here," the 78-year-old retired Londoner said.
But trouble is lurking.
Papuan
tribesmen in traditional costume perform aboard a ceremonial boat
during a festival in the Raja Ampat Islands in Indonesia.
In the
Papua mainland, a thousand kilometres southeast of Raja Ampat, calls for
independence by Papua's indigenous Melanesian population that began
decades ago have become more vocal in recent years, after Indonesia's
turn toward democracy in 1998.
Tribal and local leaders accuse the government of pillaging rich
forests and mines, polluting local water and land, and putting little
back into one of the country's poorest areas.
The Papua region is off-limits to foreign journalists.
Last month, eight people were killed in ambushes and clashes with
police after an ongoing workers' strike at a gold and copper mine
operated by US company Freeport McMoRan turned ugly near Timika, a city
in Papua's mainland.
Because of the distance from the mainland, the sparsely populated
Raja Ampat islands remain largely untouched by the troubles for now.
The small number of adventurers arriving each year to the idyllic
isles remain focused on diving and nature, largely unaware of the
problems in the wider region.
The islands have also been untouched by another potential scourge: mass tourism.
At present, there are only seven "resorts" (with three under
construction), each with no more than a dozen villas. In addition, 39
"liveaboards" with a maximum of 20 people per vessel, ply the waters
around the islands.
Last year Raja Ampat welcomed a total of just 4,515 visitors -- one
for every 1,000 hectares -- each of whom paid up to $5,000 a week for a
villa nestled in the mangroves or a cabin in a traditional wooden boat.
The
small island of Koh in the Raja Ampat archipelago in Indonesia's Papua
province. Regional tourism authorities are moving ahead with plans to
open up the area, despite concerns raised by non-governmental
organisations.
But that could change, as the islands gear up to attract and welcome more tourists.
The islands' remote location has been the main bulwark against mass
tourism. With no air link, the most practical route is to land in
Sorong, the closest town, and take a three- or four-hour ride on a ferry
that began operating last year.
But signs of change are visible in a runway being hacked out of the
forest, where chainsaws clearing the way for an airport due to open next
year drown out the sounds of exotic bird calls.
A road connecting the future airport runs beside a stunning,
translucent bay rich with coral that was once completely isolated but
now is threatened by upswings in construction and tourism.
"We hope it (the airport) will bring many tourists from many
countries," enthused Yusdi Lamatenggo, the regional tourism minister.
But Jimmy Praet, manager of a company that pioneered tourism in Raja
Ampat, feared that "an airport will make this place too accessible: it's
so remote and unique now".
Praet's "Papua Diving," which opened the first resort in the mid
1990s, rents a dozen villas nestled between jungle and sandy beach or
perched above the lagoon on the island of Kri, for to up to 34
privileged guests.
The
remote Raja Ampat archipelago in Indonesia's Papua region is under
threat from mass tourism with the building of a new runway and
"ill-conceived" construction projects. Duration: 00:59
"If they want
this to be another Bali, the tourists will leave," Praet warned,
referring to the popular Indonesian island which is often seen as a
victim of mass tourism.
"We do not want to compete with Bali, we do not want to develop big
resorts like in Bali," insisted Hari Untoro Dradjat, senior adviser at
the National Tourism Ministry.
"Quality, not quantity, is the goal," he added. "We believe in the protection of the uniqueness of this area."
The number of tourists arriving in Raja Ampat is "actually still very
low compared to other tourism destinations, nonetheless there are
already signs of overcrowding on specific popular dive sites," said Mark
Erdmann, senior advisor for CI in Indonesia.
"The important thing will be to carefully manage tourism development
to spread the pressure over a greater area of Raja Ampat and avoid
crowding on popular sites," he said.
He welcomed a new regulation adopted in July restricting the number of resorts to 20, about three times the present number.
In May 2007, the government imposed an entrance fee of 500,000
Indonesian rupiah ($56) for foreign visitors and 250,000 for
Indonesians, with 30 percent of the proceeds going to the regional
tourism ministry, and the rest earmarked for conservation, education and
health.
"Raja Ampat is eco tourism not mass tourism like Bali," insisted
Lamatenggo, citing as proof the recent creation of seven marine parks
covering a total of 1.2 million hectares, or 45 percent of the region's
reefs and mangroves.
But the government has refused to yield on development, despite
repeated objections by non-governmental organisations in Indonesian
Papua.
Erdmann said that construction was beginning to take its toll on the fragile ecosystem.
"Raja Ampat right now is already suffering from a number of
ill-conceived government infrastructure development projects, especially
from 'ring road' development around many of the bigger islands," he
said.
"There is in fact no real justification for these roads, as the
people of Raja Ampat do not have any cars or motorbikes but rely on sea
transportation," Erdmann stressed, adding that the work is smothering
precious reefs.
He complained that the government had turned a deaf ear to calls for a
system of public ferries to transport people and goods, in large part
because crooked contractors and corrupt officials were pushing road
projects, which were being built haphazardly and with little regard for
the ecosystem.
Devastating assaults on the archipelago are also coming from dynamite
fishing -- which is officially banned but "still exists" according to
Lamatenggo -- and from coastal mining projects.
"I'd expect they'll ruin the place," joked Helmut Hochstetter, a
60-year-old German, as he prepared for a dive in the company of manta
rays.
"Better then to enjoy it while we still can," he said.
Source: PHYSORG
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