What the Miners were banking on was the concept that tourism could both protect the marine ecosystem and redirect income from marine extraction to a sustainable employment model hinging upon the health of the reefs. They were right. A project developed in 2016 by The Nature Conservancy, named ‘Mapping Ocean Wealth’ (MOW), visualises in quantitative terms what the ocean does for people. They assessed the ecosystem services that the world’s ocean environments provide to humans – food, recreation and tourism, coastal defences, etc – and valued these services in monetary terms. The worldwide annual economic value of coral reefs was calculated at $36 billion; 70 million trips are made to the world’s coral reefs each year; coastal and marine tourism provides work for 6.5 million people. Coastal and marine tourism is projected to be the largest value-adding segment of the ocean economy by 2030.

During the research, The Nature Conservancy team identified million-dollar reefs – reefs that generate more than one million dollars per square kilometre per year. Misool was one of them. Since the Miners embarked on their ambitious mission to protect the area, the marine ecosystem in the region has undergone remarkable changes. Shark populations have bounced back and fish biomass has increased rapidly. Surveys in 2007 and 2013 conducted by Mark Allen from Murdoch University in Australia found that biomass had increased on average by a staggering 250% in six years, and at some key sites by 600%. Oceanic manta sightings increased 25-fold between 2010 and 2016. As for the shark populations which had all but collapsed? A 2012 study established that there are 25 times more sharks inside the Misool Private Marine Reserve than directly outside of it.

Renegade conservationists
These impressive conservation results were gained through a powerful partnership between local communities and Misool. Before starting to build the resort, the Miners and their equally impassioned partners negotiated a lease agreement that established a No-Take Zone (NTZ) inside which all extractive practices are banned. The concept of sustainable resource management is a strong tradition in Raja Ampat. In this region, communities use a mechanism called ‘sasi’ to ‘open and close’ fishing to maintain healthy stocks of fish and other marine life. This tradition was a crucial negotiating point and the agreement ensured that these activities would continue. It also, helpfully, meant that the concept of sustainability was already very much integrated into the indigenous culture.

The boundaries of the lease area were drawn following a series of townhall meetings. It was agreed that the NTZ should be far enough away from the villages so that their traditional fishing grounds remained available, but close enough that artisanal fishers would benefit from the spill-over effect of resurging fish populations. The parties agreed upon an area that had historically been fished illegally by outside fishermen using long-lines, dynamite, and gill nets. The community lacked the resources and infrastructure to intercept the poachers who were decimating their natural heritage. By creating an NTZ with a locally-staffed Ranger Patrol, the local community was able to regain stewardship over their reef systems while growing their local economy.

Once the lease was in place, the shark-finners were displaced from that beautiful beach and a team of local and foreign workers was mustered. Over the course of two and a half years, the team successfully transformed the former shark finning beach into a high-end private island resort. But they never lost sight of the mission: to protect the heart of biodiversity. The resort was built from reclaimed wood, which the team milled themselves in their portable sawmill. After a day’s construction work, the local crew would take to a plastic dinghy and chase down Javanese long-liners by throwing pebbles at them. With the full support of local leaders, they hassled intruders and confiscated their gear as well as their catch. Through this the Misool Ranger Patrol was born. The patrol now comprises of a 15-person unit of local rangers that monitors the Misool Private Marine Reserve 24/7. Rangers move between four stations using five dedicated patrol boats and work directly with the marine police and army, who have jurisdiction to impound vessels caught fishing illegally inside the reserve.