Bangka & Belitung Island

            Bangka-Belitung is one of Indonesia provinces. It includes two large islands, Bangka and Belitung, and several smaller ones, which lie east of Sumatra, northeast of South Sumatra province. Bangka Belitung (BABEL) Islands province is the 31st Province in Indonesia, one of the newest provinces. Bangka Belitung get it’s approved as a new province in 2001 separated with south Sumatra. That acknowledgement is because of the people struggle. The region that was a great tin mines, now already to reach the new phase in its life. It provisioned with the beautiful of nature, and the uniquely of culture, Bangka Belitung step to the better future. 

 

The richness of Bangka Belitung Island of nature and tin mines until its maritime rich, make Bangka Belitung a magnet for the new comers to get a better life. A Balinese countryside is found in this Island named Giri Jati village, complete with all of Bali culture that remembering us to Bali Island.

PARAI TENGGIRI BEACH

This beach is one of Bangka Island’s prides. The beach is located in Sungailiat district. The visitors can find various forms of boulders in this beach, which add its beauty. This beach is very ideal for having swimming, sun bathing and relax. Parai Tenggiri beach has the complete facilities in Bangka Island. There are luxurious hotels and water sport facilities. The tourists will enjoy this beach with the local fishermen who always spend their days by looking for fishes in the sea. The calmness and fresh sea wind will greet the visitor when they arrive there. This welcomed course make the tourists feel comfortable to stay here. 

ROMODONG BEACH

Romodong beach is located at Bukit Ketok village, Belinyu district, Bangka regency. This beach is about 77 km of Sungailiat town. In this beach, the tourists can watch the sunset, because this beach is faced to west side. The length of this beach is about 4 km; it is slope, white sandy and soft. Its water is very clear like a crystal. Enjoy the beautiful of Romodong. When it low tide, you can walk in the water until in the middle of clear sea. If we see around, we just find the boulders and white sand that spread in the beach. The winds that make the leaves wobbled greet the tourists who looking for an inspiration. 

PENYUSUK BEACH

Penyusuk Beach is located in Penyusuk village, Belinyu district. The location is not far from Romodong beach, but it offers different nuance than Romodong. It is natural and slope beach. It decorated with colorful of stones. Many stones that compact stand with its bigger waves than Romodong is fenced Penyusuk Beach. Romodong and Penyusuk have different beautiful, but both have great charm. This beach is visited by a lot of visitor because of its beautiful beach and its clear water.  

MATRAS BEACH

It is located in Sinar baru village, Sungailiat district in eastern of Bangka Island. It about 9 Km from Sungailiat, it's considered as the best in Bangka Island. The beach is about 3 kilometers long and its width is almost 30 meters. It is unspoiled white sandy beach with coconut trees around the beach area, the tropical breeze and sunshine. Enjoy the warm and clear waters of the blue sea or just have a cooling swim in the river entering the sea. This beach commonly called as the Heaven Beach because it surrounded with coconut trees and visited by a lot of visitor. An easily accessible beach can be found in the northeast of Bangka, 48 km from Pangkal Pinang and 12 km from Sungai Liat.

Sentani Lake

The lake is divisible into three main sectors with maximum recorded depths of 7 to 52 meters. Average annual rainfall around the lake is about 2 meters and lake level fluctuates about 0.4 m with seasonal variation in inflow. The lake is widely believed to have evolved by the tectonic damming and uplift of an arm of the sea, but such a connection has not been demonstrated.

 

Lake Sentani, near Jayapura at the northeastern extremity of Papua, lies at an elevation of 73 m in a fault-controlled depression mainly in Mesozoic mafic and ultramafic rocks of the Cyclops Ophiolite Belt. It is bounded by the Cyclops Mountains block to the north and the lower-standing terrain of the New Guinea fold thrust belt to the south. An irregularly shaped body with approximate maximum dimensions of 28 km (E-W) by 19 km (N-S) and a surface area of 10,400 ha, Lake Sentani is by far the largest of the Papua lakes. It is fed by a catchment area of about 600 km2 and has one outlet only, via the Jafuri and Tami rivers to the Pacific Ocean near the Papua New Guinea border.

 

The most recent survey (Renyaan, 1993) recorded 33 species of fish, of which 12 are indigenous, 8 anadromous and 13 introduced. Surveys over a 1 year period have shown an increase in introduced species but the impact on the total fish population has not been documented. Sawfish (Pristis microdon) up to 3 m or more were well known in the lake until the Seventies and are a common motif in traditional Sentani art, but appear to have become extinct. Fish are extensively raised in ponds and cages around the perimeter of the lake and the introduction of species (particularly carp and tilapia) has been both accidental and intentional.

 

  Because of its proximity to the provincial capital and the large population around it, Sentani is the best studied of Papua lakes. According to surveys in 1970-71, 1984 and 1987 the lake is thermally unstratified, with temperatures of 29-32 C in the top 10 m. Surface pH is 6.2-6.8 and, on the basis of turbidity, plankton levels are low at 1-2 mg/L except in the westernmost basin, where circulation is limited, turbidity is doubled and seasonal algal blooms, with resultant fish mortality, have been reported.

Preliminary bottom sediment samples from the eastern part of the lake have recently yielded sparse populations of arcellacean microfauna, dominated by Centropyxid types. In North America these species are found associated with brackish or polluted water conditions, raising the possibility that there is residual salinity in the deeper parts of the lake. Many of the Sentani people, who inhabit the islands, perimeter and environs of the lake, still have a traditional subsistence economy based on fishing and sago harvesting. This has been sustainable for centuries but local reports suggest that catch yields have diminished in recent years. Whether this is a result of overfishing (as a result of population growth and/or market pressure), pollution or introduction of foreign species is not established.

Many of the residents occupy dwellings built on posts over the lake, which thus serves as a depository for sewage, leading to locally high coliform counts but also to nutrient enrichment. Water hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes), introduced since the early Seventies, has become a major plant pest and may be contributing to decline of some species. Much of the mountainous terrain between the north shore of the lake and the ocean falls within the Cyclops Strict Nature Reserve. The future management of the reserve and buffer zone, and the environmental quality of the lake, are strongly interdependent. Recently a major reforestation project of grassland on the slopes surrounding the lake has been initiated, with the support of forest companies operating in Papua.

A major sustainable development issue for the inhabitants of the lake and surroundings is the existing proposal to build a hydroelectric generating facility, by means of a dam on the Jafuri River to divert the lake drainage eastward through a canal to a power station and thence to an outlet at the sea in Yotefa Bay near Jayapura. Several feasibility and environmental impact studies have yet to totally define the cost/benefit consequences of this project.

Raja Ampat

Raja Ampat casts a spell on all who visit – scientists, photographers, novice divers and crusty sea-salts alike. This group of majestic islands, located in the northwestern tip of Indonesia’s Papuan “Bird’s Head Seascape,” lies in the heart of the coral triangle, the most bio-diverse marine region on earth.

As stunningly beautiful above water as it is below, Raja Ampat (which literally translates as “The Four Kings”) has a startling diversity of habitats to explore. Each of these – from the stark wave-pounded slopes that drop away beneath the karst cliffs of Wayag and Uranie to the deep, nutrient-rich bays of Mayalibit, Kabui and Aljui to the “blue water mangrove” channels of Kofiau and Gam to the plankton-rich upwelling areas of Misool and the Dampier Strait – are home to unique assemblages of species that, when taken together, add to produce the most impressive species lists ever compiled for a coral reef system of this size.

Marine tourism, as a sustainable alternative to overfishing, mining, and logging, has the potential to play a key role in the conservation of Raja Ampat’s spectacular underwater realm, while also creating real benefits for the local communities. This website was designed as part of a larger effort to support the growth of sustainable marine tourism in Raja Ampat and the conservation of these magical islands.

The area’s massive coral colonies show that its reefs are resistant to threats like coral bleaching and disease —threats that now jeopardize the survival of corals around the world. In addition, Raja Ampat’s strong ocean currents sweep coral larvae across the Indian and Pacific Oceans to replenish other reef ecosystems. Raja Ampat’s coral diversity, resilience to threats, and ability to replenish reefs make it a global priority for marine protection.

Survey Confirms Highest Marine Biodiversity on Earth
In 2002, The Nature Conservancy and its partners conducted a scientific survey of the Raja Ampat Islands to collect information on its marine ecosystems, mangroves, and forests. The survey brought Raja Ampat’s total number of confirmed corals to 537 species— an incredible 75% of all known coral species. In addition, 899 fish species were recorded, raising the known total for Raja Ampat to an amazing 1,074. On land, the survey found lush forests, rare plants, limestone outcroppings, and nesting beachesfor thousands of sea turtles.

Though human impacts here are less severe than elsewhere in Indonesia, Raja Ampat’s natural resources are endangered by over fishing and destructive fishing, turtle poaching, and unsustainable logging. The Indonesian government recently established Raja Ampat as a separate administrative unit, which will give communities a greater say in managing the natural resources upon which their livelihoods depend. This structure also offers an important opportunity to include conservation in the spatial planning of the newly formed local government.

Ensuring Conservation through Partnerships
To address these issues, the Conservancy launched a new project to protect Raja Ampat, working in close partnership with the government and communities to: 1) contribute to a comprehensive conservation action plan to protect Raja Ampat’s reefs and forests; 2) help incorporate marine protected area management into long-term planning and policy; and, 3) establish a network of marine protected areas for Raja Ampat.
 

The Conservancy’s ultimate goal is to protect Raja Ampat’s magnificent reefs while sustaining the livelihoods of local people. Raja Ampat includes the four large islands of Waigeo, Batanta, Salawati, and Misool, plus hundreds of smaller islands. The archipelago is part of an area known as the Bird’s Head functional seascape, which also contains Cenderawasih Bay, the largest marine national park in Indonesia.