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Coral Triangle Maps of the Month
The Coral Triangle Maps of the Month is a bi-weekly email running from August-December 2012 that showcases various maps that highlight the diversity and uniqueness of the Coral Triangle region. The maps also show some of the pressing issues that are threatening this very important resource considered the epicenter of the world's marine biodiversity. The maps are generated by the Coral Triangle Atlas team at The WorldFish Center.
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Map 03: Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Indonesia
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Raja Ampat Marine Protected Area in West Papua, Indonesia Photo: Handoko Susanto
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Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world.
It straddles the Pacific and Indian Oceans as
well as the Asian and Australian continents. It consists of approximately 17,000 islands and has three times more surface covered by sea than land - with 5.8 million square kilometers of sea and 1.9 million square kilometers of terrestrial territories.
Indonesia is also at the center of the Coral Triangle and has one of the richest marine biodiversity in the world. It has over 574 coral species and 45 mangroves species. Its waters and coastlines have approximately 19,805 square kilometers of coral reefs and 29,631 square kilometers of mangroves forest.
Although marine resources are key contributors to Indonesia's food security, livelihood, and way of life, these resources face the same challenges shared by many of its neighbors: overfishing, destructive fishing, pollution and effects of climate change.The Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle Report states that nearly 95% of Indonesia's coral reefs are threatened by human activities with 35% in the very high threat category.
In an effort protect and preserve its marine resources and as part of its commitment to the goals of the Coral Triangle Initiative, the Indonesian government has committed to conserve 200,000 square kilometers of its marine area by 2020. The current total area of MPAs is approximately 187,221 square kilometers or 3.1 percent of the country's Exclusive Economic Zone. At this stage, Indonesia has already covered roughly 94% of its conservation goal.
Note: The data sources used by the Coral Triangle Atlas team to estimate the coverage of coral reefs and mangroves protected within MPAs in Indonesia are: - Coral Reefs: UNEP-WCMC (2010) Global Distribution of Coral Reefs further updated by the CT Atlas team
- Mangroves: UNEP-WCMC (2010) Mangroves of the World. Preliminary global dataset provided to ReefBase
- MPAs: Various data sources compiled by the Coral Triangle Atlas team including the World Database of Protected Areas, local governments,The Nature Conservancy, and ReefBase updated as of July 2012
Do you need more maps on the Coral Triangle? Follow this link to download a high-resolution version of this map from the CT Atlas website
To see more maps, view the CT Atlas Map Gallery online
To generate your own map, check out the CT Atlas interactive map
Follow the links below to see past maps in this series:
Map 01: The Eleven Ecoregions of the Coral Triangle
Map 02: Marine Protected Areas in the Coral Triangle |
About the Coral Triangle Atlas
 The Coral Triangle Atlas is an online Geographical Information System (GIS) database providing scientists, governments and NGOs with a view of spatial data at the regional scale. This project will improve the efficiency of conservation planning in the region by giving researchers and managers access to biophysical and socioeconomic information in spatially explicit while encouraging them to share their data to complete the gaps, therefore reducing duplicate data collection efforts and providing the most complete and most current data available. By contributing data to the CT Atlas, NGO partners, governments and managers are helping to strengthen the effectiveness of conservation activities in the Coral Triangle through improved information flow and access to the region's best datasets.
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