Guardians of Raja Ampat

By Devina Vaniautami

Raja Ampat is a place beaming with rich natural resources, stretching from the mountains to the seas. It is a place where most of the world’s unique marine species gathered. Raja Ampat is a paradise since the ancient time that sustains the livelihood of the people of Raja Ampat.

Unfortunately, the paradise that is so valued by the people of Raja Ampat also attracts the attention of illegal fishing from outside of Raja Ampat. They took Raja Ampat’s marine resources destructively. Seeing how it threatened the oceanic ecosystem, Raja Ampat Guards were called to protect their oceans. They are the Raja Ampat Sea Patrol Team. The Raja Ampat Regional Government formed The Sea Patrol Team together with the local community and other conservation partners.

And not only they put their lives in danger by chasing away illegal fishermen armed with fish bombs, but they must also be willing to live on remote islands and separated from their families during their job. Regardless of the presence or absence of the Sea Patrol Team, the entire Raja Ampat community is the Keeper of Raja Ampat. Their instinct is to protect the oceans because the ocean is the source of their lives which will be passed on from generation to generation.

When we look at these Guardians, we understand that protecting nature is an instinct. They have learned to preserve nature for generations. They learned about marine conservation techniques from their ancestors through the Sasi tradition (read more about Sasi HERE).

Illegal fishing is one of their major problems. The Marine Patrol Team inspects every inch of the ocean to look for illegal fishermen. These illegal fishermen use bombs and fishing rods, which endangering the coral and marine ecosystems. However, people in Raja Ampat understand the ins and outs of the sea like the back of their hands. They understand which parts of the sea have strong currents, bays, and beaches that are safe to keep them protected during poor weather. Therefore, it is easy for them to find a hiding place for these illegal fishermen.

Even though they know the ins and outs of Raja Ampat, protecting it is still not a simple task. That is because Raja Ampat is a vast territory and most of its territory is the ocean. But they have strong teamwork with one goal in mind: To protect the sea so they can continue to sustain their lives and future generations.

We cannot separate the people of Raja Ampat from nature. By seeing how close they are to nature, we realize that some of us often take nature for granted. Most of us litter, not worrying that the plastic we used might reach the ocean. And destroying a place that meant a lot to someone or even made a living from it.

We need to learn the importance of nature from the people of Raja Ampat so we always protect it by supporting marine conservation and living an environmentally friendly lifestyle. Thus, our future generations can still see thousands, even millions of unique species from the Indonesian ocean, and have a better environment to live in.