Area: 5,9 km2
Location: Ria Formosa, Algarve, South of Portugal
Number of inhabitants:
Number of visitors:
Protected island:
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Raja Ampat is a remote Indonesian archipelago off the northwestern tip of the Bird’s Head Peninsula in West Papua, this sparsely populated archipelago of 1,411 islands on 4.6 million hectares is home to an incredible abundance of life and forms what is currently considered one of the most diverse marine ecosystems in the world. In the heart of the coral triangle, Raja Ampat is home to 75% of the world’s known hard coral species, over 1600 species of fish, 6 of the 7 species of sea turtles, 16 species of marine mammals and 699 species of mollusks.
IDENTIFIED PROBLEMATICS
The reefs provide a rich and sustainable food source for local communities scattered throughout the archipelago, and in some areas they also support a healthy tourism economy that sustains a significant portion of these communities. Yet, these sustainable ecosystems are now under pressure from new and real threats related to rapid and environmentally unsustainable local development and global climate change.
Despite being one of the last bastions of coral reefs in the world, in the face of human-induced climate change and rapid unsustainable development, as well as overuse and overexploitation, Raja Ampat’s reefs are facing a harsh reality; time is running out to ensure their health, and in some cases, their existence. The future of local communities depends heavily on the health of their reefs, and given their global ecological and economic importance and influence, the Raja Ampat ecosystems are unquestionably a global priority for marine conservation and protection.