I

have visited Raja Ampat in West Papua four times in recent years and I visited Misool, Biak, Mapia and Yapen in neighboring Papua 20 years ago on a liveaboard to dive.

Progress, especially in infrastructure, is good, however, with the increase of tourism, especially mass tourism and uneducated tour guides, tourism poses a threat to the environment.

We need regulated tourism that is based on this environment’s ability to sustain a human influx. Construction of tourist facilities must be thought out and planned properly.

After my visit in April 2013, it was planned that then president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono would visit the area around July in the same year.

When I returned to the area in November that year, jetties around Pencil Rock and platforms up to the outlook points of Paenemo had been hurriedly constructed just to facilitate the president’s trip, destroying Raja Ampat’s natural beauty.

Garbage cans were placed at “strategic” locations, but trash remained around the trash cans and of course in the beautiful turquoise water at the beach, because nobody picks up the garbage.

This ugly sight of garbage was nonexistent in the months before my trip.

We need to carefully plan and execute our tourist destination development so as to not destroy the very pristine environment that the government is trying to promote.

I am glad that the Raja Ampat National Park decided to control the number of divers entering the area at the one time. Wildlife is starting to leave their traditional fishing grounds because of the diving frequency.  

We can learn from many national park policies in neighboring countries or hire consultants to advise us on how to preserve the environment to create sustainable tourist destinations for many more centuries to come.

Paul Tan
Jakarta