ResortHello guys, have you ever heard about Raja Ampat Island ????
It's a new favourite tourist place for diving, snorkling, sightseeing in the world .
Raja Ampat is locatted
in 
West Papua, one of the new province in Indonesia Republic. Raja
Ampat is the newest world's most diverse underwater ecosystems and it has most colourful bird kingdoms on Earth. Raja Ampat, meaning four kings, is a specific area within Indonesia, including West Papua. The name refers to the four biggest islands within the Indonesian archipelago (Batanta, Waigeo, 
Misool and Salawati) and originates from the time of maharajas. The area covers 42,000 km2 including 2500 limestone islands covered shore to shore by untouched, ancient rainforests.
The forest canopies are home to myriads of parrots disturbing the piece of this ancient land. Black and white cockatoos enjoy this paradise as well singing even louder. The tree crowns provide home to the beautiful bird of paradise with the most amazing plumage on display. The thick undergrowth provides the perfect hiding place for many other animals such as the cassowary.
Coral reefs near the shore provide home for more than 500 species of corals and 1300 species of fish. An Australian scientist, during a 60 minute dive, managed to identify 283 different species, which is more than the total number of species known to be living around the Caribbean islands and equals all the variety of species found in the Red Sea. The cold, nutrient rich underwater currents near the shore attract masses of underwater life including manta rays. The size of these amazing creatures can reach up to 6 meters. We can differentiate between two kinds; the well know white colour manta ray, and the all black, which is unique to this area. Different type of larger fish are attracted to this area, as the myriad of small fish feeding on the plankton-rich waters provide the perfect hunting ground for all. Cachalot and grampus are just two to mention. Furthermore sea cows and turtles are grazing the underwater sea grass near the shores and pipe fish and ghost-pipe fish feed in the coral
How to get there ???? Take flight from Singapore - Manado - Sorong or Jakarta - Makasar - Sorong or Denpasar - Makasar/Manado - Sorong. Sorong is the city and before go to Raja Ampat must be stop in Sorong. Then continue with boat/ferry to Raja Ampat where it takes 1 to 2 hours. Ticket price is 100.000 until 125.000 rupiah.
How about Accomodation ???
Don't worry ! there are some resorts, home stay or cottages which are available.
Why do I have to pay a fee to enter Raja Ampat?
Raja Ampat is blessed with some of the highest marine biodiversity and healthiest coral reefs in the world.
In order to protect this unique biodiversity, Raja Ampat has 7 nationally mandated and locally managed
marine protected areas (MPAs). As with any park or reserve, conservation and tourism management costs
money, and the Raja Ampat government is adopting a tool commonly used throughout the world for financing
protected areas management – entrance fees. Moreover, the villagers in Raja Ampat have traditional marine
tenure rights over all of the reefs and are entitled to seek compensation from users of their reefs. In an
effort to harmonize these various needs and avoid a very complex set of fees for tourism use of individual
reefs, the Raja Ampat government and local communities have agreed to a centrally-collected single
entrance fee of Rp 500,000/person/year.
Why is the fee so high?
Raja Ampat is huge, covering nearly 50,000 sq km, with a population of 32,000 spread over 92 villages and
sub-villages. Managing such a large and diverse area is costly. Providing direct benefits to each of the 92
remote villages is especially costly, particularly given the relatively low number of tourists visiting Raja
Ampat. In trying to convince the government and villages to prioritize eco-friendly tourism development
over lucrative but environmentally-damaging sectors such as mining and forestry, it is important that they
see real benefits from tourism. Note that the fee system actually only contributes a small part of the
overall conservation and management costs of Raja Ampat’s MPA system.
Why do I have to pay for a 1 year tag even if I’m only visiting for a few days?
There is a growing consensus among MPA managers that the annual waterproof tag system is the most
efficient, robust and convenient method of collecting entry fees, avoiding the significant hassle and
enforcement issues that arise with daily fees – especially in large-scale MPAs where guests do not pass
through a central entrance gate on a daily basis.
Why was I given 2 receipts when I purchased my tag?
The fee has two main components: a governmental tourism management fee of Rp 150,000 and a
conservation and community development fee of Rp 350,000. In order to ensure transparency and make it
very clear where the money goes, each guest will receive two receipts, one for each fund.
Who manages the revenues from the fee system?
The Raja Ampat tourism entrance fee is managed by a multi-stakeholder team that is comprised of local
community leaders, Raja Ampat govt. officials (from the departments of Marine Affairs and Fisheries,
Tourism, and Health) local and international conservation NGOs (CI, TNC, and the Papuan Turtle
Conservation Foundation), and a rep. of the private marine tourism sector.
Where does my money go?
The Rp 150,000 tourism management fee enters the coffers of the Raja Ampat tourism department and is
targeted at improving tourism management in Raja Ampat. The Rp 350,000 conservation and community
development fee is split by law into 3 components: 40% for a community development fund for activities
that benefit all 92 villages/sub-villages in Raja Ampat; 40% for a conservation and enforcement fund, and
20% for management of the fee system (including paying for the office and staff required to collect,
Updated in October 2008 2
manage, and distribute the entrance fee proceeds). The priority activities under the community
development and conservation funds are determined on an annual basis by the entrance fee management
team.
What are the first year priorities with the entrance fee funds?
In 2007, the conservation fund will be used to strengthen a patrol program to eliminate destructive fishing
practices such as blast and cyanide fishing. In order to reach out to all communities in Raja Ampat and
provide them some direct benefit from tourism, the community development fund will be used to reestablish
the “Posyandu” system which brings basic health care to mothers and young children in every
village. NOTE: as it will take time to accrue funds in the entrance fee accounts, the 2007 activities
described above are actually being funded by grants from conservation NGOs; the revenues from the 2007
entrance fee will be used to fund 2008 activities in Raja Ampat, 2008 revenues will fund 2009 activities,
and so on.
Why do I still see people fishing in Raja Ampat’s Marine Protected Areas?
Raja Ampat’s MPAs were only declared in mid-2007 and the zonation and management plans for each MPA
are still under development. Local communities are still allowed to fish in their traditional areas and may
continue to do so with certain agreed gear restrictions. That said, fishing activities including blast and
cyanide fishing, trawling, and shark-finning are illegal throughout Raja Ampat. While a joint patrol team
comprised of police, fisheries officers and community members has now been launched to confront these
environmental crimes directly, the reality is that patrolling this huge area will always be a challenge and a
system is being developed so that tourism operators can report violations.
How can I help Raja Ampat further?
As an honored guest to Raja Ampat please respect the rules and especially the reefs of the park. Avoid
damaging corals and other marine life by controlling your buoyancy and not standing on or contacting the
reef. Photographers should be especially careful and not manipulate marine life. Ensure boats anchor in
deep water >40m. Anchoring on the reef is the primary cause of tourism-related reef damage! Also insist
that your operator does not dispose of solid wastes at sea, which is still a problem!
Secondly, consider donating to either the conservation or community development funds described above.
The multistakeholder management team is developing a number of programs which you may like to support
such as supplying library books to schools and villages and mosquito nets to reduce the threat of malaria.
While we are working on setting up a system where you can donate directly through your operator, for now
donations can be made at the entrance fee office at the Sorong airport. Similar to the transparency for
the entrance fees collected, all donations are recorded and you will receive an official receipt.
Thank you for visiting Raja Ampat. We hope you enjoy your stay and aim to ensure it is even better the next time you visit.
Please Contact us :
KENNKO PAPUA TOURS
Email address : papuarudie75@gmail.com
Mobile phn : 0813 44 37 33 98 ( HP )
