The Derawan Islands (Indonesian: Kepulauan Derawan) are in the province of East Kalimantan in Indonesia.
They include Derawan, Sangalaki, Kakaban,
Maratua, Panjang, and Samama Island and
submerged reefs and islets.
They are located in the Sulawesi Sea, on the coastal shelf of East Kalimantan (2°17′N - 118°13′E). The islands are part of the Berau Regency.
Biodiversity
Derawan islands is
a part of Coral
Triangle, which contains one of the richest marine biodiversity on earth.
Located in a biodiversity hotspot,
the Derawan Islands feature 872 species of reef fishes, 507 species of coral, and invertebrates,
including protected
species (5 giants clam species, 2 sea turtles, coconut crab, etc.).
Some of the islands harbor the heavily exploited turtle eggs and yet the
largest green turtle nesting
site in Indonesia.
Unpoisoned jellyfish
Derawan Islands
have at least two ponds contain unpoisoned jellyfish,
one in Kakaban Island
and the other in Maratua Island with Haji Buang Pond. Kakaban is more famous
than the second which is also more difficult to access. Indonesia at least have
7 ponds with unpoisoned jellyfish, the others are 3 ponds in Raja Ampat, West Papua, one
in Togean Island, Central Sulawesi and
one in Rote Island, East Nusa Tenggara.
Resources use
There are two
inhabited islands, namely Derawan (1 village of 1,259 people) and Maratua (4
villages of 2,704 people). Fishing is
an important income-generating activity for the community. Since the early
1990s, people have caught live groupers, Napoleon wrasse,
and lobsters, to fill
high demand. There are 3 dive resorts on Derawan Islands, while more additional
resorts or facilities are in the planning process.
Caves
Maratua Island is
384.36 square kilometers and has at least 13 caves, but the prediction, more
than a hundred caves are not yet explored. The caves usually have connection
directly to the sea. These caves originated from reef which sea water
infiltrated into, creating underground channels
Airport and seaport
On September 11,
2015 Maratua Airport with runway 1,200 meters has been operated to boost
tourism and also to secure defence strategy due to Maratua island is near the
border with Malaysia and the Philippines. On February 13, 2017 an ATR 72 airplane has landed
successfully in Maratua Airport, but it is not a scheduled flight, but a
chartered flight. Until February 2017, there are no signs that scheduled flight
will operate in Maratua Airport. There are also plans to build seaport.