Located of the northwest of Bird's Head Peninsula on the island of New Guinea, in Indonesia's West Papua Province. Raja Ampat or the Four Kings, is an archipelago comprising over 1,500 small island, cays and shoals surrounding the four main island of Misool, Salawati, Batanta and Waigeo, and the smaller islan of Kofiau. Raja Ampat is new regency which separated from Sorong at 2004. It encompasses more than 40,000 sq km of land and sea, which also contains Cenderawasih Bay, the largest marine national park in Indonesia. It is part of the newly named West Papua (province) of Indonesia, which was formerly Irian Jaya. The islands are the most northern pieces of land in the Australian continent.
Raja Ampat so famous for its natural beauty, and is one of the 10 best dive sight in the world, so the beauty nature in King Four until someone mentioned as a heavenly world. Raja Ampat is actually one of the city district in the province of West Papua, Indonesia. This district capital is located in Waisai. Raja Ampat has many island are 610 islands. A total of 35 inhabited island and the rest is blank, there are not even name. This area lies between the border of West Papua with Halmahera, Maluku.
As of September 2008, current species tallies for the Bird's Head include over 1,356 species of coral reef fish (including 1,223 in Raja Ampat alone and at least 25 endemics known only from this region), 600 species of hard coral (75% of the world's total and over ten times the number of coral species found in the entire Carribean) and 57 species of mantis shrimp (including 8 endemic species known only from Bird's Head). Other important features of the Bird's Head include karts forest full of rare orchid's, bird of paradise, tree kangaroos, regionally importan green and Hawksbill Turtle Rookeries, whale and dolphin aggregation, and the world's larges Pacific Leatherbac. Turtle nesting beaches in the Jamursbamedi-Warmon coast of the Northern Bird's Head.
As more is discovered about Raja Ampat, its global significance continues to grow. There is now clear evidence that the coral around Raja Ampat may be naturally more resilient to fluctuations in temperatures, and thus more likely to withstand the impacts of global climate Indonesia and the Pacific, making Raja Ampat the heart of the 'supply chain' of species. This transport may to replenish other reefs which have been damaged by disease, bleaching, overfishing, and other detrimetal activities.
Local governments and stakeholders require strong support in developing effective, sustainable coastal and marine resource management that conserves biodiversity while benefiting local communities. To date, that support is coming from a highly dedicated team of over 200 international and local conservation NGO staff focused on improving the management of Raja Ampat. Working in concert with the local and national government and other local institution and stakeholders, two international conservation NGOs, Conservation International (CI) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) as well as Indonesian governments Coral Reef Rehabilitation and Managemen Program (COREMAP) are facilitating the management of the 7 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) recently declared in Raja Ampat . The World Wide Fun for Nature (WWF) and local NGO, Papuan Sea Turtle Foundation, play a key role in sea turtle conservation in the archipelago. In addition, the three international NGOs-CI, TNC and WWF have ambitious partnership throughout the Bird's Head seascape.
While the landscape may look like a dream, this is not an illusion. As you embark on your dive, the phrase 'Attention to detail' takes on new meaning as pigmy seahorses swim around your fingers. Manta Rays and Wobbegongs will glide right by you. Tuna fish, giant trevallies, snappers, and even barracudas are there to complete your underwater 'meeting list'. Not to mention the friendly assistant of the dugong, and a busy colleague, the turtle. Natural and untouched beauty is the main attraction here. With no unnecessary adages, the sky, the lush island, the sea, and everything above and under it genuinely saying 'Welcome to Raja Ampat Island; your personal Disneyland of diving sites'