MISOOL, Indonesia (AP) — There is an explosion of color beneath the surface in Raja Ampat, a remote archipelago in eastern Indonesia where sharks, mantas and sea turtles glide alongside vast schools of fish through sea fan coral formations, some of which are only found in its waters.“There’s nowhere on Earth that has as many fish, corals and everything else packed into one small place,” said Mark Erdmann, an American coral reef biologist who has spent more than two decades studying the region and became a central figure in building Raja Ampat’s conservation model.The world famous diving archipelago sits at the heart of the Coral Triangle, in southwestern Papua, where powerful ocean currents carry nutrients that sustain what scientists describe as the most biodiverse marine ecosystem on the planet.AdvertisementAdvertisementLong regarded as a global model for ocean conservation, Raja Ampat ecosystems are now under pressure, as concerns grow over the expansion of nickel mining alongside a surge of international tourism.Model for conservationThe reefs didn’t always look as healthy as they do today. In the early 2000s, fishermen from other parts of Indonesia and Southeast Asia used explosives and large nets, damaging corals, decimating shark populations and forcing local residents who relied on fishing to travel as far as 10 kilometers (6 miles) offshore for a catch.During those years, the government depended on mining and forestry as the region’s main economic drivers.That trajectory began to shift in 2023 when a marine assessment by Conservation International sparked conversations between lo …
