Located at the epicentre of coral reef biodiversity

Wakatobi is located at the South Eastern tip of Sulawesi, a region considered to be the epicentre of coral reef biodiversity, Wakatobi is the resort of choice for some of the world’s most discerning divers, including many professional marine photographers.

Guests usually spend around ten days in the resort. The number of dives is unlimited within safety and decompression requirements, and most divers will dive to the max. The profusion of marine life means that dives do not need to be deep (shallow dives conserve air) and spectacle-filled dives of 70 minutes or more are not uncommon.

The resort offers contemporary chic accomodation to guests who appreciate quality.

You may imagine that after a spell in such a far-flung location, with such an emphasis on diving, that guests would be ‘dived out’ and glad to return to “civilisation”, but on the contrary most don’t want to leave, and tears are not unknown on departure day. The guest book is littered with comments such as ‘perfect’, ‘haven’, ‘best ever’, and ‘we’ll be back’.

The creation of such a premier dive destination, with reefs which are actually improving in health as time goes by, is no accident, it is the result of arduous and dedicated work to carry through a master plan designed with such goals in mind.

Sustainable protection of the marine environment

To put in place sustainable marine resource protection within the Wakatobi region, the resort developed a Collaborative Reef Conservation Program in consultation with local leaders and village elders. The Program motivates the local communities to realise the intrinsic value of the reefs and inspires them to take an active role in protecting the marine ecosystem. The program achieves this by providing an economic alternative to fishing and by creating real incentives that help protect and manage the reefs: education, tourist dollars, employment with direct payment, as well as reef lease fees – all providing greater income than the fishing they replace.

Wakatobi is located in an area that encompasses the highest coral reef biodiversity in the world.

The program has initiated changes in the way that local people fish (eg taking pelagics which are more sustainable, rather than slow-growing reef species) and has also encouraged them to police the reefs – illegal fishermen and poachers pose a far greater threat than does the locals’ need for food.

The program includes all 17 communities around the resort and stretches over 20km (12.5 miles) of some of the finest reefs of the world, including the protection of dozens of top dive sites.

Wakatobi Dive Resort founder, Lorenz Mäder says, 'While it is understood that every traveller has inevitably some negative impact to the place he visits, it is most important to see the overall environmental impact balance: The question every dive operator has to ask himself is: "Is my operation improving the natural environment and does the local community benefit directly and indirectly?" Most dive destinations are deteriorating over time for whatever reasons. Wakatobi Dive Resort has not only managed to stop destructive fishing methods and unregulated exploitation, but has actually improved the quality of the resort surroundings, seagrass beds and reefs'.

The Collaborative Reef Conservation Program motivates local communities to realise the real value of the reefs.

Some of Wakatobi Dive Resort's steps to protect and improve the environment

• Implementing strict rules to minimise divers' impact - all guests sign a dive conduct agreement, non-compliance leads to exclusion from diving without refund
• Offering village tours to further cultural understanding
• Reducing, separating and recycling waste as much as possible
• Treating waste water in biological ways to avoid harmful nutrients entering the sea
• Using local traditional skills to build and maintain the resort, and selling local products
• Providing full-time employment to a workforce of about 140 locals (with same salaries for men and woman, only depending on performance)
• Sponsoring electricity for the local village (500 people) including 2 km power line to the village, transformers, electrical installations in every house, in exchange for the villagers honouring a 3 km reef sanctuary on their traditional fishing grounds
• Sponsoring waste management in the surrounding villages on the neighbouring island
• Sponsoring public projects for all 17 villages in the sub-district sponsoring schools with education materials
• Recognising that the poorest need most support to refrain from traditional but destructive practices such as reef gleaning: Wakatobi employs up to 50 widows to produce natural roof tiles (made with sago palm leaves) for the resort buildings and sponsors scholarships for orphans
• Sponsoring a small credit scheme for small businesses to increase compliance
• Sponsoring patrols in the vicinity carried out by representatives of the local communities as well as reef patrols further away from the resort conducted by Police, Military and Rangers

© EcoAsia 2009