WAKATOBI NATIONAL MARINE PARK

The entrance gate for the tourists is Bali. The trip is about 2 hours with a DAS Eight aircraft with a 40 seat capacity. The price is high because it uses a chartered aircraft. In terms of administration, wakatobi is divided to 7 subdistricts, which are : wangi-wangi, south wangi-wangi, kaledupa, South Kaledupa, Tomia, East Tomia, Binongko and Togo Binongko subdistricts. Now wakatobi has 14 kelurahans (villages led by lurah in terms of administration) and 48 village.

Before Wakatobi became a new district, the archipelago that spread in the banda ocean was known as tukang besi (blacksmith) island. Even though the district was only 5 years old, the name Wakatobi was used by the government and the buton people. Wakatobi is the short name of 4 big island which are : Wangi-Wangi, Kaledupa, Tomia, and Binongko.

All areas of Wakatobi includedin National Parks have a total area of 1.390.000 Ha. The area is a National Park because it has the biggest variety of marine biodiversify in the world. There are 942 fish species and 750 of the 850 coral species in the world are found in this area

WAKOTOBI – RELIANCE ON CORAL

Wakatobi Reliance on coral in the triangle of world , which is visited by thousands or even millions divers from all around the world, 750 species of coral can be found in it. In Wakatobi marine park, 875 species of coral are found. According to Wallace’s development board, the coral is in habited by 600 species of fish.

The combination of fish, the ecosystem, and various types and shapesn of coral create beautiful and attractive underwater life in this 1.3 million hectare area.

Previously Wakatobi was part of the Buton district. During the autonomous period, the 4 islands in the tukang besi archipelago established a new district separate from the Buton district. About 90% of this new district is water. The water between the wakatobi island has magnificent underwater life with the best coral in the world. in 1990, the area was enstated as wakatobi National Marine Park. Because of the potential that they have, Wakatobi relies on tourism and the ocean as economic sources for now and into the future. Wakatobi people as marine people are able to use and manage the resources. Now, they are waiting for investor in fishery industry to make boats, fishery or transportation tools, construction of cold storage to process the fish for export.

As national marine park.Wakatobi has 1.3 million hectares of conservation area. The area is a coral ecosystem. According to Jacques Cousteau, a marine biologist from France, Wakatobi National Marine Park is the best ecosystem of coral in the world and is ideal for diving. A few businessmen have already build and managed a resort in the Marine Park area. For example, the Walacea Development Board – Jakarta that established a resort in Hoga Island, a small uninhabited island with white sand beaches located in front of Kaledupa island.

PT Wakatobi resort, led by Lerenz Mader from Switzerland, Has begun to manage the small Island Onemobaa in front of Tomia Island in the last a few years. The resort provides bungalos and diving tools. The company has an aircraft pad on Tomia Island. The airport is operated to bring the visitors to Onemombaa island from Europe and America using chartered aircraft.