A Marine Rapid Assessment of the Raja Ampat Islands, Papua Province, Indonesia

The Raja Ampat islands are another example of a highly diverse coral ecosystem under threat. Such regions stand out not only because of their species richness, endemism and habitat level diversity, but also because of their relatively pristine condition. Yet portions of these coral ecosystems face imminent destruction and degradation because of over-fishing or destructive fishing, pollution, population growth and the urbanization of coastlines. This rapid assessment catalogs the current biological state of the Raja Ampat islands and assess potential threats.