NOVEMBER BEST TIME TO ENJOY MARINE BEAUTY OF WAKATOBI by Fardah

Jakarta, Sept 30, 2015 (Antara)- The legendary Jacques-Yves Cousteau,  the French pioneering explorer of the seas, is said to have called the Wakatobi islands in Southeast Sulawesi Province, an underwater Nirwana.

         He also described the district as the finest diving site in the world.

         Located right in the heart of the Asia-Pacific Coral Triangle, the Wakatobi Islands which have been designated as a national marine park, offer crystal clear pristine waters and a rich biodiversity of underwater life, a true paradise for divers.

         Marine lovers now can have better access to Wakatobi as Indonesian shipping company PT Pelni is now offering marine tourism tours to guests to sail to Wakatobi and Raja Ampat in West Papua Province.

         The Raja Ampat tour will start from October 29 and last till November 1, 2015, by MV Tatamailu, Akhmad Sujadi, a spokesman of Pelni, said in a press statement recently.
    For the Wakaboti tour, it will use MV Kelimutu and will start from November 15, lasting till November 19 of this year.

         The Wakatobi sailing tour to be held from November 15-19 will start from Baubau seaport and proceed towards Tomiang, Hoga, and Wanci isles.

         The tour package will cost Rp4.75 million for first class, Rp4.25 million for second class, and Rp3.75 million for budget class (one US dollar equals around Rp14,600).

         "For registration and further information, calls can be made to the customer care center of Pelni at 021-162," Sujadi said.

         Since 1996, Wakatobi has had a conservation area or a national marine park covering a total area of 1.4 million hectares, of which 900,000 hectares are decorated with different, colorful species of tropical coral reefs.

         The national park has 25 clusters of coral reef, a 600-km long coastal line, 112 species of coral reef from 13 families, and 93 species of fish.

         The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recognized the Wakatobi marine park as a world biosphere reserve in 2012.

         Wakatobi District Head Hugua said UNESCO wanted to protect three interests, while recognizing the Wakatobi marine Park as a center of the world biosphere reserve: local knowledge, environmental sustainability, and sustainable economic interests of the local society.

         "Local knowledge is related to the cultural traditions of communities," Hugua, who has been very active in promoting Wakatobi internationally, said.

         Being one of the world's largest marine biodiversity areas, Wakatobi is expected to become  a centre of earth's biodiversity.

         "Here in Wakatobi, the beauty of the marine life is waiting to be discovered and explored," Hugua said.

         Wakatobi is known for having the highest number of reef and fish species in the world.

         The islands are also famous as the largest barrier reef in Indonesia, second only to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.    
    The park is said to have 942 species of fish and 750 coral reef species. The world has a total of 850 coral reef species.

         It also has fringing, atolls and barrier reefs and offers more than 50 spectacular dive sites that are easily accessible from the major islands.
    This is the habitat of large and small fish species, the playground of dolphins, turtles and even whales.

         The island group comprises 143 larger and smaller islands with only seven of them inhabited by a total population of around 100,000. All others remain uninhabited.

         Most notable are the Bajo communities, the seafaring nomads who inhabit many of Indonesia's remote islands.  
    A traditionally nomadic ethnic group whose members live in houseboats, the Bajo people are often referred to as sea gypsies. They depend on traditional fishing for their livelihood.
    The Bajo are known for occasionally travelling over a thousand kilometers from their homes in search of under-exploited reefs to retrieve fish and other marine resources for both subsistence and market uses.

         The Indonesian government, in cooperation with the FAO Regional Office in Asia and the Pacific (FAO-RAP), will organize a Regional Seminar on "Bajo - Sea Nomad in Asia-Pacific: Maritime Culture and Best Practices in the Management of Fisheries Resources" in October this year.

         The seminar will be held in Makassar City, South Sulawesi Province and Wakatobi Island.  At the end of the seminar, the participants will have an opportunity to visit Wakatobi, where the largest Bajo community lives.

         Indonesia is one of the world's largest maritime countries with about 5.8 million square kilometers of marine territory. It is the biggest archipelagic country in the world, with around 70 percent of its territory being waters and it has 17,480 islands.

         The government plans to increase the nation's marine conservation area to 20 million hectares by 2020, from the present 13.5 million hectares.

         Indonesia has intensified marine tourism promotion and set a target to earn US$4 billion from marine tourism this year. ***3***
(F001/INE/B003)
EDITED BY INE

(T.F001/A/BESSR/Bustanuddin) 30-09-2015 23:08:06