The entire Halmahera Sea area and its surrounding islands including Ternate and Tidore Islands, Goraici and Bacan Islands, Patientie Strait, Damar and Widi Islands in the south, Weda Bay, Buli Bay, Kao Bay, Galela Bay/Tobelo Islands, Morotai Island, and North Loloda/South Loloda Islands.
Implementing partner organizations:Conservation International (CI) Indonesia
The Nature Conservancy (TNC)
WWF-Indonesia
PHKA-Ministry of Forestry
Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries
LIPI; Khairun University in Ternate
Provincial Government of North Maluku
Participating experts:
Dr. Mark Erdmann, CI team leader
Dr. Alison Green, TNC team leader
Dr. Rodney Salm, TNC
Dr. Kent Carpenter, CI
Dr. Gerry Robert Allen
Dr. Emre Turak
Dr. Lyndon Devantier
BKSDA representative
Min. of Marine Affairs & Fisheries
LIPI researcher
Dr. IB Windia Adnyana, WWF
Nurhalis Wahidin, MSc, Khairun Univ.
Zulhan Harahap, MSc, Khairun Univ.
Gede Raka Wiadnya, MSc., TNC
TNC/CI Field Staff
Roger Steene, photographer
Sterling Zumbrunn, CI, videographer
The assessment has the following five primary objectives:
- Assess the current biodiversity status including coral reef condition and conservation status of hard corals, coral reef fishes, stomatopod crustaceans,and sea turtles of the Halmahera area.
- Assess the potential for development of marine protected areas (MPAs)
along the expedition route, specifically identifying areas of outstanding conservation importance due to rare or endemic hard coral or fish assemblages, presence of turtle nesting beaches or reef fish spawning aggregation sites, or other outstanding biological features.
- Assess the current socio-economic conditions of coastal villages that are located in or near potential MPA(s); including documentation of reliance on marine resources for livelihoods, dominant capture techniques including potentially destructive fishing practices, and attitudes towards conservation.
- Estimate levels of ecological connectivity between reefs in the Halmahera area and across the Bird’s Head Seascape in general, including with the reefs of Raja Ampat as well as the Sulu-Sulawesi Seascape. This will be done through analysis of taxonomic similarities of coral, fish and crustacean assemblages on these reefs and through direct analysis of phylogeographic structure across selected marine populations in the assessment area.
- Assess the potential for marine tourism development in the area, both in terms of attractiveness of dive sites and logistical/infrastructure issues related to tourism development.
>> Learn more about Ocean Conservation Projects.
Photo: New species of lionfish (Scorpaenidae: Pterois) collected on 2005 Halmahera survey © Gerry Allen