Raja Ampat
Location
Raja Ampat Islands, Indonesia
Description
Raja Ampat (“Four Kings”), off the northwestern tip of West Papua Province in Indonesia, includes the four large islands of Waigeo, Batanta, Salawati, and Misool and hundreds of smaller islands. This region encompasses over four million hectares of land and sea in the heart of the ‘Coral Triangle’, an area with the world’s highest coral reef biodiversity. Raja Ampat has the highest recorded diversity of coral species in the world. Oceanographically and biogeographically, the Raja Ampat islands lie at the ‘entrance’ of the Indonesian Through-flow from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean. While current patterns in the area are complex, present data indicate a strong likelihood that the Raja Ampat reefs function as an unparalleled source of larvae to reefs throughout the region. Additional studies are still needed to substantiate the degree of connectivity of the Raja Ampat islands to other areas in the Coral Triangle. Together with Cendrawasih Bay and Fak-Fak Kaimana, this region forms the Bird’s Head Seascape (Veron et al, 2009).
Global Significance
The diversity of habitats and reef conditions in the Raja Ampat islands is impressive and is the primary reason for the outstanding species diversity encountered in the area. The archipelago is estimated to harbor over 75% of the world’s coral species. At least 553 species of scleractinian corals are known in Raja Ampat (Veron et al. 2009). Soft coral diversity is also very high. Raja Ampat also has one of the world’s richest coral reef fish fauna, consisting of at least 1,320 species, the highest count in the world for an area of that size (Allen and Erdmann 2009). The islands encompass intact forests and functional coral reefs, often separated by only meters. It is unusual to find such ‘ridges to reefs’ ecosystem integrity in Indonesia. The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC) Rapid Ecological Assessment in 2002 concluded that conservation of marine biodiversity in Raja Ampat is an over-riding priority and of major interest to the global community.
Fishing in Raja Ampat. Photo © Mohammad Syakir/TNC
Collaborative Conservation
TNC has been working in Raja Ampat since 2003. The primary objective of TNC’s conservation work in Raja Ampat is to establish two effectively managed Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), Kofiau and SE Misool, which would form the basis for establishing a resilient network of collaboratively-managed MPAs network in Raja Ampat and the wider Bird’s Head Seascape. The current integrated conservation program at Raja Ampat includes a joint work plan between TNC, Conservation International (CI), and WWF Indonesia. Our collaborative vision is to establish and implement a network of MPAs throughout the Bird’s Head Seascape in West Papua, in collaboration with provincial and regency governments, local NGOs, local communities, private sector, and other relevant stakeholders. TNC, CI and WWF have committed to a joint goal to ensure the coastal and marine resources of the Bird’s Head Seascape are effectively managed in a sustainable manner which incorporates the principles of ecosystem-based management and conserves the rich biodiversity of the seascape while supporting the livelihoods of the seascape's citizens. Their joint objective is the adoption of sustainable planning and ecosystem-based management practices by the 2 provincial and 14 city/regency governments in the Bird’s Head Seascape, with the implementation of a network of ecologically-connected MPAs that together include sufficient "no-take zones" to close 20-30% of the critical coral reef habitats in the seascape to all forms of exploitation as the centerpiece of this initiative.
Resilience is a key aspect of the work being done in Raja Ampat and Bird’s Head Seascape, and specific resilience strategies have been part of the management and planning, including:
- Designing an effective network of 12 MPAs across the Bird’s Head Seascape, to protect a diversity of species, habitats and ecosystem services
- Incorporating principles of resilience into the design zoning plans for MPA in the Raja Ampat MPA network including the identification and inclusion of specific features such as areas of upwelling, shallow lagoons and high current areas
- Designing biological and socioeconomic criteria at the individual MPA level during the zoning process that take into consideration potential future impacts from climate change
- Testing IUCN’s Rapid Reef Resilience Assessment protocol (Obura and Grimsdith 2009) at Kofiau and SE Misool MPAs, to see to what extent the data can be used in MPA design
- Applying ecosystem-based management principles to MPA network planning and management and spatial planning throughout the seascape
Bird's Head Seascape MPAs. Map by Wen Wen/TNC. Click image for larger version.
Network of MPAs in the Bird’s Head Seascape
The Bird’s Head Seascape hosts more than 1,000 species of coral reef fishes and nearly 540 species of scleractinian corals recorded to date. It also includes critical habitats for globally threatened turtle species including the world’s largest Pacific leatherback rookery and regionally important green and hawksbill rookeries. Diverse assemblages of cetaceans including many species listed as endangered use the region as a migratory corridor and also aggregate in Raja Ampat and in Kaimana. Supporting the design and effective implementation of 12 MPAs spread throughout the seascape which are connected by complex ocean currents will help to protect a diversity of species, habitats and ecosystem services across this globally significant region.
Ecosystem-Based Management
An ecosystem-based management approach is being applied to the development of zoning plans for the Raja Ampat MPA network. The TNC Indonesia Marine Program (IMP) and Global Marine Team (GMT) are partnering with CI and University of Queensland (an EBM Tools Network member) to develop zoning plans for each of the MPAs in Raja Ampat. This project will bring together all available information on conservation features, resource use patterns and threats into a decision analysis framework to help design zoning plans for the network of MPAs in Raja Ampat. The project represents a unique opportunity to support the existing process of developing zoning plans for all the Raja Ampat MPAs in an integrated way that takes account of the contribution of each MPA to the network, and the relationships between processes occurring at each site and the overall Raja Ampat ecosystem (i.e. different MPAs will provide different ecosystem services to the network and have representation of different habitat types, fisheries etc.). The project also aims to represent different groups of stakeholder interests as an objective within the spatial analysis. By mapping patterns in resource use across the MPA network, we will represent stakeholder use and their interests spatially, particularly artisanal fishers that rely on access to marine resources critical to their subsistence and livelihoods.
Design Criteria for Resilient MPA Design in Raja Ampat
The following criteria have been considered in the design of individual MPAs to achieve an effective, resilient MPA network at Raja Ampat.
| Biophysical Criteria | Climate Change | Socioeconomic Criteria |
Size of each no-take zones should be a minimum of 10-20 km diameter at the smallest dimensions, except for coastal regions Maximum distance between no-take zones should be 15 km Minimum of 20%, goal of 30% of each habitat type (e.g. coral reef types, mangroves, seagrass) should be represented in a no-take zone Minimum of three replicates of each habitat type are represented in no-take zones to reduce the chances that they will all be disturbed by the same disturbance event Where possible choose areas with multiple habitat types within no-take zones, to ensure a high level of connectivity among habitats Where possible choose no-take zones adjacent to terrestrial reserves, to maximize coastal ecosystem integrity Avoid fragmentation — where possible, include entire biological units in no take zones (e.g. seamounts, atolls, lagoon) Choose simple shapes for no-take zones to minimize edge effects, while maximizing the interior protected area Protect critical or unique areas, such as:
|
Choose areas that may be resilient to climate change-induced bleaching events Choose areas that are resilient to climate change-induced sea level rise impacts |
Recognize and respect the Papuan marine tenure system and local communities rights, by ensuring they are central in decision-making process Incorporate traditional knowledge and traditional conservation and sustainable fisheries practices into marine protected area management Minimize negative impacts on existing local livelihoods Protect areas of cultural-traditional importance to local resource owners Minimize conflicting uses (e.g. tourism versus fisheries) Ensure that cost-benefits from marine protected areas are fairly and equitably distributed between communities Take into consideration species that are important for community fisheries (e.g.Trochus, sea cucumber, lobster, green snail, abalone, giant clams), and recognize their spatial and temporal variations in resource use and values Support subsistence fishing needs and low-impact fisheries Protect marine resource use of local communities by prohibiting destructive fishing practices Facilitate and support the implementation of management practices that support sustainable, low-impact commercial fisheries Ensure development of marine protected areas that are designed to support subsistence and non-destructive and sustainable artisanal fisheries for local communities Consider fished species vulnerable to over-exploitation (e.g. groupers, sharks) Protect high potential tourism sites Support low-impact environmentally friendly industries that are compatible with marine protected areas (e.g. ecotourism, pearl farm) Avoid placing marine protected areas or no-take zones in the vicinity of existing shipping infrastructure |
| Adapted and modified from McLeod et al. 2009, Green et al. 2009. Misool photo © Sangeeta Mangubhai/TNC | ||
Misool. Photo © Alison Green/TNC
Resilience Assessment
In 2009, two expeditions were completed by leading scientists and managers in the region to assess coral reef resilience at Kofiau and SE Misool MPAs, using the protocol designed by IUCN. In addition to general reef health monitoring, data was collected on fish biomass, coral recruitment, algae cover, coral community structure and composition, and coral diseases or evidence of coral bleaching. The team also tried to tease apart the factors that are “theorized” to convey reef resilience. Preliminary results suggest that coral reefs in Raja Ampat vary in terms of their resilience potential, and more detailed analyses will help detemrine what are the key factors that may be driving resilience on these reefs. Once the assessment has been completed, the information will be used to identify resilient areas for inclusion as no-take zones in the MPAs.
Lessons Learned
- Strong tri-partnership, collaboration and joint-vision, goal and objective between the international NGOs TNC, CI and WWF to design and implement an effective network of resilient network of MPAs in the Bird's Head Seascape
- Significant time and resources invested in community participatory processes to ensure local communities are actively involved in the declaration of MPAs and the design of zoning plans, and traditional management systems are integral in the final design
- Important to collect comprehensive biological, biophysical and socioeconomic datasets to adequately understand and characterize the MPAs, and incorporate this information into the final design of zoning plans
- Effective design is being achieved by using principles of ecosystem based management and decision-support tools to zone the 7 MPAs in Raja Ampat as a network, rather than on an individual MPA basis
- Development of clear goals, conservation targets and design criteria (including biological and socioeconomic criteria) for designing zoning plans for individual MPAs in the network
Funding Summary
Misool. Photo © Dwi Wibowo/TNC
- USAID - GCPII
- Walton Family Foundation
- The David and Lucile Packard Foundation — Science Program
- Private donors
Lead Organization
Contact Information
Sangeeta Mangubhai, PhD
Bird's Head Portfolio Manager
smangubhai@tnc.org
Tel: +62 361 287-272
Fax: +62 361 270-737
The Nature Conservancy
Indonesia Marine Program
Coral Triangle Center
Jl. Pengembak No.2
Sanur 80228, Bali
Indonesia
Resources
Conservation Blog: Expedition to the Raja Ampat Islands
University of Queensland, Hugh Possingham’s group
Bird's Head EBM Factsheets (download pdf, 1,888k)
Raja Ampat Factsheet (download pdf, 183k)
Allen, G. R. and M.V. Erdmann. 2009. Reef fishes of the Bird’s Head Peninsula, West Papua, Indonesia. Check List 5(3): 587-628 (download pdf, 4,005k)
Green, A., S.E. Smith, G. Lipsett-Moore, C. Groves, N. Peterson, S. Sheppard, P. Lokani, R. Hamilton, J. Almany, J. Aitsi, L. Bualia. 2009. Designing a resilient network of marine protected areas for Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea. Oryx 43: 488-498, Cambridge University Press
McLeod, E., R. Salm, A. Green, J. Almany. 2009. Designing marine protected area networks to address the impacts of climate change. Front. Ecol. Environ. doi:10.1890/070211 (download pdf, 636k)
Obura, D.O. and G. Grimsdith. 2009. Resilience Assessment of coral reefs — Assessment protocol for coral reefs, focusing on coral bleaching and thermal stress. IUCN working group on Climate Change and Coral Reefs. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. 70 pages. (download pdf, 4,831k)
Veron, J.E.N., Lyndon M. Devantier, Emre Turak, Alison L. Green, Stuart Kininmonth, Mary Stafford-Smith, and Nate Peterson. 2009. Delineating the Coral Triangle. Galaxea, Journal of Coral Reef Studies 11: 91-100 (download pdf, 385k)