Along with Local Communities, IPB University Researchers Preserve Marine Lakes in Misool Raja Ampat

IPB University lecturers and researchers from the Department of Marine Science and Technology (ITK), Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science (FPIK), Dr Beginer Subhan and Dea Fauzia Lestari, MSi conducted socialisation and briefings for the local community of Kampung Usaha Jaya, Misool, Raja Ampat.

This activity is an effort to raise awareness of the local community about the importance of preserving the marine lake ecosystem in Raja Ampat as a valuable asset for the environment and tourism. The socialisation also involved a team of researchers from Wageningen University and Research (WUR), the Netherlands and Yayasan Konservasi Alam Nusantara.

Supri, the Head of Kampung Usaha Jaya Village, gave his full support to this initiative and encouraged the active participation of the community in the socialisation. "We really welcome your arrival to provide counselling and knowledge to the residents. We hope that the sea lake can be preserved and can have an economic impact on the people of our village," said Supri welcoming the team.

Dr Beginer Subhan explained that marine lake ecosystems, also known as marine lakes, are lakes located in the middle of the sea, separated by rock walls but still connected by caves or rock pores. These lakes were formed millions of years ago and are inhabited by isolated biota.

"Raja Ampat, with its amazing underwater beauty, has several marine lakes that are important ecosystems for various marine species. Several marine lakes in the Misool region have become popular tourist destinations, attracting many tourists from around the world," he said.

However, he continued, the increasing number of visitors poses a threat to the sustainability of the lake ecosystem. In addition, the lack of knowledge of local guides can be one of the obstacles in sustainable tourism activities.

For example, Tip Kapas Lake, which is owned by the Tomolol Village clan, has recently been very quiet. In addition to the impact of the decline in the number of tours to Misool, the phenomenon is also due to the reduced number of jellyfish in the lake which is a tourist attraction.

"The reduction of jellyfish is thought to be due to the introduction of several large fish such as the giant trevally barracuda into the lake, which is expected to be a tourist attraction, but instead it is the opposite. The fish became a predator of jellyfish so that the population decreased in the lake. Of course, this is detrimental to the community and also disrupts the preservation of biodiversity in the sea lake," he explained.

As an effort to provide information and understanding to the community, researchers from IPB University and the team provided socialisation to the community about the importance of preserving the sea lake and the existence of various organisms that live in it.

In addition, the community was also given direction on concrete steps such as a code of conduct for tourists when visiting the sea lake not to use fins when snorkelling, not to throw garbage in the lake, not to touch the biota in the lake.  The IPB University research team also suggested several things including monitoring human activities that can damage the lake environment and recording tourists who come to the sea lake.

"Through this collaboration, it is hoped that researchers and communities can jointly improve nature conservation efforts that provide benefits for the welfare of local communities and future generations," said Dea Fauzia Lestari.

The Chairman of the ITK Department of IPB University, Dr Syamsul Bahri Agus, hopes that through close cooperation between researchers, communities and related parties, the sustainability of sea lakes in Raja Ampat, especially in the Misool area, can be maintained for a long time. "The success of this effort is also expected to be an inspiring example for other regions in preserving sea lakes and their ecosystems that are vulnerable to the negative impacts of human activities and global climate change," he concluded. (DEA/RAT/Rz) (IAAS/RUM)