Critical Assessment of Ecotourism Development in Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia

(photos courtesy: daniel stassen, department of marine affairs and fisheries, conservation international and papua diving)

Maulita Sari Hani
Posgrad Student in Ecotoruism
School of Environmental Science
School of Business
James Cook University
North Queensland, Australia

Supervisor:
Prof. Gianna Moscardo

Sustainable development is now widely promoted as a holistic concept that aims to integrate social, economic and cultural policies to ensure high-quality growth in the context to which it is applied. Particularly in peripheral areas, such as Raja Ampat, West Papua - Indonesia, it has the potential to contribute to sustainable tourism development through ecotourism. Ecotourism is a segment of the tourism delivery system where the principles of sustainable tourism are applied to all activities, operations, processes and enterprises involved. It has the potential role for biodiversity conservation, economic growth, community empowerment and sustainable development. In order to achieved sucessful ecotourism, sustainability must be defined temporally, designate who is to receive the benefits, and determine at what levels the four systems are to be continued.

To achieve the successful ecotourism development in Raja Ampat, I believe that there is a need of critical assessment to analyze the potential of ecotourism in this region. The assessment itself are focus on a number of areas of investigation: (1) identify potential ecotourism routes and products in the research area, (2) identify potential environmental, cultural and social impacts of eco-tourism development, (3) assess and determine if and how ecotourism can play a role in enhancing biodiversity conservation, (4) assess and determine if and how ecotourism can play a role as a viable alternative development and economic development mechanism in the regions studied, (5) identify the potential economic development of ecotourism, (6) assess the community capacity with regard to participation in ecotourism development.

At the end of this study, I will recommend ecotourism priorities and activities in order to develop appropriate ecotourism policy and planning and I will also develop a viable ecotourism sustainability model through marine ecotourism.