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| Boo West Soft Corals 2, Raja Ampat, Indonesia |
The Raja Ampat archipelago, part of the Coral
Triangle, located at the northwest corner of Indonesia’s West Papua
province, encompassing 40,000 km² of land and sea and including a series of
more than 1,500 islands which surround the main islands of Misool, Salawati,
Batanta and Waigeo.
Located at the intersection of the Indian
Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, Raja Ampat has been described as a ‘species
factory’.
Powerful deep-sea currents funnel nutrients
into Raja Ampat’s delicate fringing coral reefs, blue water drop-offs, mangrove
flats, and seagrass beds to form the
foundation of the food chain which feeds a
spectacular diversity of marine life.
The government of Indonesia might demand
compensation for the damage of rare ridges of rock by tourist boat MV
Caledonian Sky from Britain destroying 1,600 square meters of ridges of rock in
Radja Ampat earlier this month.
A team from the Environment and Forestry
Ministry is set to examine the damage caused to coral reefs in Raja Ampat,
Papua, when a UK cruise ship, the MV Caledonian Sky, ran aground in shallow
waters in the area. Nearly 140,000 square feet (more than 13,000 square meters)
of reef were destroyed, Ketut Putra, the vice president of Conservation
International Indonesia, told CNN. The ship crashed into one of the best diving
areas, he said.
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| Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar (second from left) |
Siti said the Coordinating Maritime Affairs
Ministry would coordinate the handling of the incident, in which the
Environment and Forestry Ministry would specifically handle the damaged coral
reefs and prepare measures to bring the environmental destruction case to
justice.
Noble Caledonia, the cruise company that operates the
vessel, apologized for the incident. It said in a statement that the ship went
aground, but did not give a reason why.
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| Nearly 140,000 square feet of pristine reef were destroyed, a conservation official said |
"We are working with local experts to understand
how we can assist with the regeneration of the reef. We value our relationships
around the world with local people and we are sorry to have impacted the local
community," the statement said.
The company said it will establish a fund to help the
local economy and help pay for repairs.
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