The Raja Ampat Regency Government is proud to announce the introduction of a tourism entrance fee system effective August 12th 2007.  In accordance with Regency Law Number 63 and 64, the 2007 entrance fee for foreign visitors is Rp 500,000 (approximately US$55) for which they will receive a waterproof plastic entrance tag.  The annual tag will normally be valid from January 1st until January 31st of the following year.  The 2007 tags will be valid from 12 August 2007 until 31 January 2008.  All Indonesian visitors from outside Raja Ampat are required to pay Rp 250,000. For 2007 Indonesian tourists will get a tag, but in future years they will receive an entry card.  Visitors are required to carry their tags or cards at all times and they can be easily fixed to guests’ snorkeling or diving gear or to their kit bag.  The entrance fee system has been adapted from the very successful Bonaire and Bunaken Marine Park systems.  The 2007 tag features the endemic epaulette shark Hemiscyllium freycineti, one of over 1200 fish species found in Raja Ampat, THE most biodiverse marine region in the world recorded to date.

Tags will be available for purchase at the Sorong, Indonesia airport, the main point of entry for Raja Ampat.  Additionally, tags can be purchased in advance from the Conservation International (CI) office in Bali, Indonesia.  Tags should be purchased in advance by boats entering Raja Ampat from ports other than Sorong.  Each tag purchase will result in two receipts, one for Rp150,000 for the Raja Ampat government tourism management fee and another one for Rp 350,000 for the Raja Ampat conservation and community development fee.  Enforcement of the entrance fee system will be by spot checks by official patrols.  The revenues from the entrance fee are managed by a multi-stakeholder “Raja Ampat Tourism Entrance Fee Management Team” which includes representatives from the fisheries department, tourism department, conservation organizations, tourism stakeholders and community representatives.  According to the law, 100% of the tourism management fee will fund tourism department programs, whereas the conservation and community development fee is split as follows: 40% for conservation and enforcement programs, 40% for community development programs and 20% to administer the fee system.

We greatly appreciate your support and cooperation with this fee system.  Conservation of Raja Ampat’s spectacular marine habitats and biodiversity requires long term funding.  In addition, the local communities who own these reefs need to see direct benefits of tourism through community programs that will improve their quality of life.  For more information about Raja Ampat and the user fee system please visit our web site at www.diverajaampat.org.
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Continue for an article on the announcement of the tag system and its ties to the network of seven marine protected areas declared earlier this year in Raja Ampat…

Press Release

Following the declaration of a network of seven marine protected areas earlier this year, the Raja Ampat Regency Government in West Papua, Indonesia, is pleased to announce the launch of an annual tag system for visitors. The plastic tag is valid for 13 months from the 1st of each calendar year and will cost Rp500,000 (US$55) for international visitors and Rp250,000(US$22) for Indonesian citizens. 70% of the proceeds from the sale will be managed by a multi-stakeholder team for conservation, enforcement and community programs. 30% of the proceeds will go to the Tourism Department for tourism development.  The Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL) worked with the diving community and local authorities to develop and socialize of the tag system over the past year.

Raja Ampat and the surrounding Bird’s Head Seascape splashed onto diving headlines over the last few years with the announcement of over 60 new species of fish and invertebrates discovered there during surveys by Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy and Indonesian scientists.  Raja Ampat comprises about 610 islands spread over 50,000sq km with spectacular scenery and intact primary rainforest. Preserved by isolation and low population pressures, the underwater scenery is equally enchanting and diverse. Clear water mangroves front up to pristine coral reefs which pulse with huge schools of multi-colored reef fish and a diversity of marine life unrivalled on the planet – Raja Ampat’s reefs have variously been described as “nature’s richest reefs”, “reefs on steroids”, and a “species factory”.  From the smallest pygmy seahorse to migrating sperm whales, Raja Ampat has it all.

In fact, the area has the highest recorded marine biodiversity for an area this size anywhere in the world.  Nearly 1200 species of fish and 540 species of coral have been recorded here – approximately 70% of the world’s total number of coral species. Experienced divers will be overwhelmed with the number of fish species which can be seen.  Renowned ichthyologist , Dr. Gerry Allen recorded an exceptional 284 species on a single dive here.

The exceptional nature of the area is highlighted by an unusual collaboration of international NGOs (Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy and WWF) who all worked together with the Raja Ampat Authorities and local NGOs to define the most valuable areas for protection. The network of 7 MPAs protect a total of 45% of Raja Ampat’s amazing shallow reefs and coastal habitats. These NGOs are continuing to help the government and local communities to develop management plans appropriate for each area.

The new marine protected areas in Raja Ampat have been declared under the auspices of innovative new national legislation, which allows for local government management authority over the MPAs (as opposed to the more traditional approach of central government management of national parks). This decentralized approach has a number of advantages for both setting up and managing the new protected areas, particularly by ensuring that local stakeholders (villager and government) have a much greater input on the areas to be protected and play a significant and direct role in their management. This will be essential if enforcement in such large and remote locations is to be successful. Much of Raja Ampat also has a tradition of reef ownership by local villagers, which has enabled a rapid community buy-in and support for the concepts of reef management and limits on exploitation. In addition, funds collected from visiting tourists stay in the regency and are locally administered, bringing direct tangible benefits to the local community.

While the detailed management plans for each MPA are being worked out, including delineation of a zonation system for each MPA, regulations on fishing gears, and enforcement protocols, the Raja Ampat Fisheries Department has forged ahead with some impressive conservation measures which apply to all marine areas within Raja Ampat. For instance, the Fisheries Department has declared trawling and shark fishing (for fins or otherwise) to be illegal in Raja Ampat, with no permits issued for these activities since 2005. Hookah diving (which is typically used in both blast and cyanide fishing and other highly exploitative fisheries) may soon follow. To be sure, blast and cyanide fishing are illegal throughout Indonesia, but enforcement agents are typically thwarted when these fishers simply dump evidence (explosives and cyanide) overboard when approached by patrols.  These same fishers are much less likely to dump their hookah compressors overboard if approached by a patrol, so a ban on hookahs is seen as an effective means of targeting blast and cyanide fishing operations.

In addition to these encouraging efforts by the Fisheries Departments, conservation NGOs have initiated a number of projects to support the overall conservation initiative in Raja Ampat. A network of community conservation radio stations have been operating for nearly two years, skillfully mixing local news and entertainment with specific information about conservation objectives and the potential benefits of properly managing marine resources.  Three field stations have been established for reef survey work and monitoring; while a floating patrol station has been built and will soon be launched for use by a joint patrol team consisting of police, fisheries officers and local community members. Community liaison officers have been trained in every village within the MPAs and local NGOs are being engaged to develop community projects. A floating education centre will soon be launched and the on-board multidisciplinary team will spend several days at each of Raja Ampat’s 88 remote villages teaching interactive, activity-based marine conservation education classes to both schoolchildren and adults.

We hope these efforts will help save one of the most spectacular natural environments on our planet and we appreciate your support.

For more information on how to visit Raja Ampat please see www.diverajaampat.org.