Raja Ampat is one of the districts in the province of West Papua, Indonesia. The district capital is located in Waisai. The archipelago is located in the northwest province of Papua has a total area of land and sea around 9.8 million acres. Located in the Coral Triangle, the heart of the world's coral reef biodiversity, the seas around Raja Ampat Islands is indicated as the most wealthy areas biological diversity in the world.

Collection of extensive coral reefs and rich coral reefs prove that this island could withstand threats like coral bleaching and disease, two types of threats that now jeopardize the survival of coral reefs around the world. Strong ocean currents in the Raja Ampat important in spreading the coral and fish larvae across the Indian and Pacific oceans to the other reef ecosystems. Ability is supported by the diversity and resilience make this priority area to be protected.
In 2002, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and its partners conducted a scientific survey to obtain data and information about marine ecosystems, mangroves, and forests of the Raja Ampat Islands. This survey shows that there are some 537 species of coral, which is amazing because it represents approximately 75% of reefs in the world. In addition, 828 species of fish and estimated the total number of fish species in this region 1074. On land, the study found lush forests, endemic and rare plants, plants in limestone and thousands of sea turtle nesting beaches.

Human activities on these islands has not shown significant negative impact compared with reefs in other places in Indonesia, but the threats because of the practices that are not environmentally friendly such as the use of bombs, poison (cyanide), taking turtle eggs and logging no attention to the aspects of sustainability is expected to disrupt the integrity of existing ecosystems. The Indonesian government had just set the Raja Ampat region as a new independent district, which is a great opportunity for local communities to manage natural resources of the Raja Ampat for the future of their lives. The new administration also offers the opportunity to participate to consider aspects of nature conservation in the spatial planning of new districts.
Raja Ampat consists of four major islands, namely Waigeo, Batanta, Salawati and Misool and hundreds of small islands. The islands are part of the vast sea of the Bird's Head area including Cenderawasih area, which is the largest marine national park in Indonesia.
Source: RajaAmpat.org