Wakatobi National Park
The park is located south-east of Sulawesi, between the Banda Sea to the north-east and the Flores Sea to the south-west. Wakatobi National Marine Park, established in 2002 is managed by the Wakatobi National Park Authority. The park covers an area of about 1.400.000 hectares and is the second-largest marine protected area in Indonesia. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005.
It is the third-largest marine park in Indonesia. Jacques Cousteau called the Wakatobi islands: an “Underwater Nirvana.” Now a national marine park covering the entire Wakatobi District, in which 900,000 host tropical coral reefs. Wakatobi has the highest number of reef and fish species in the world. The islands here form the most significant barrier reef in Indonesia, second only to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. It is the habitat of large and small fish species, dolphins, turtles and whales.
Wakatobi Dive Resort offers clear waters and a rich bio-diverse underwater life. Wakatobi hosts 942 fish species and 750 coral reef species (850 globally), versus 50 in the Caribbean and 300 in the Red Sea.
Indonesia Marine Life
There are other locations where you can see larger schools of fish and bigger animals. The Wakatobi region is the epicentre of coral reef biodiversity. 85% of the world’s coral reefs are in the Indo-Pacific region, and as you travel either east or west from the epicentre of biodiversity, the number of species decreases.
Coral reef ecosystems need warm, clear waters. If there’s too much runoff from large rivers or urban growth nearby, the reefs will choke from siltation or pollution. The waters must be warm, but not too warm. Depth is necessary too. Very shallow waters have too much temperature fluctuation and disruptive wave and surge action. Too deep and light will diminish, which decreases diversity.
