When you think of important ecosystems what do you think of first? Many people would probably say rainforests or woodlands, but how many mention coral reefs? If you are a diver you have probably thought about the part they play in our ecosystem, but if you aren’t it may not have even crossed your mind.
Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelagic country with a vast marine area of 5.8 million square kilometres. Knowing this, it should come as no surprise that the fishing industry in Indonesia is massive, coming only 2nd in the world to China. Fishing and marine activities directly support at least 2.8 million households in Indonesia
Raja Ampat is one of the most important areas of marine biodiversity in the world and in 2007 the government there decided they needed to take action to keep it that way. They did this by declaring a network of seven Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) to ensure the long-term health of the marine ecosystems.
