To start 2021, we interview Misool Resort. They run an eco-friendly lodge in Raja Ampat, Indonesia, and have established the Misool Marine Reserve.
I spent an amazing week diving at Misool Resort and was able to witness their great work. You can read my review of the Misool resort here.
Content of this article:
What are the three sustainability actions at Misool Resort that you are most proud of?
- Establishing the Misool Marine Reserve in partnership with the local communities.
- Fulfilling our founding goal of creating a tourism business that could fund the protection of the Misool Marine Reserve.
- Establishing our non-profit sister organization, Misool Foundation, in 2011 which manages a suite of conservation programs in Indonesia.
Can you tell us more about the Marine Reserve? Why is It Important for the planet? How durable is it? Does It come with extra challenges?
On the importance of the Misool Marine reserve
As our oceans change rapidly due to rising temperatures, pollution, acidification, and overfishing, the Misool Marine Reserve is a bright beacon of hope for the entire Coral Triangle. Raja Ampat’s corals have been shown to be particularly resistant to temperature fluctuations. While many areas in the region have suffered from coral bleaching events, the reefs in this area remain robust.
Currents in this uniquely positioned area could help to repopulate damaged reefs across the region. Located in the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF), ocean currents push water from the Pacific Ocean into the Indian Ocean. This flow of water is the largest movement of water on the planet, washing the region’s diverse coral polyps, larvae, and eggs, of some four thousand identified species, westwards. This movement effectively seeds not only the rest of Indonesia’s reefs but possibly even SE Asia’s. Raja Ampat’s role as a ‘species factory’ becomes more important day-by-day.
The reserve protects 300,000 acres/1220 sq. km in South Raja Ampat – that’s the size of all 5 boroughs of New York City combined. The reserve is comprised of 2 distinct No-Take Zones (NTZs) and a linking restricted-gear, blue-water corridor that is closed to all commercial fishing.
Inside the reserve, all extractive practices are prohibited. That means no fishing, no collecting of turtle eggs, no netting, no reef bombing, no cyanide fishing, and no shark finning.
Regulations are enforced, 24 hours a day, by an 18-person unit of local rangers. Rangers move between 4 stations using 5 dedicated patrol boats. The team also employs radar surveillance and unmanned aerial vehicle patrols while working directly with the marine police and army. Police and army personnel have jurisdiction to impound vessels caught fishing illegally inside the reserve.
Challenges of the Misool Marine Reserve
Each year our conservation impact and results grow stronger; however, there is still much work to be done. Paradoxically, our ongoing vigilance over the Misool Marine Reserve only makes our work in the future more difficult. As marine life recovers inside the sanctuary, poachers also take notice. Furthermore, human population pressure continues to grow, resulting in an increase in pollution.
Now we face a challenge we never expected – coronavirus. We created a model that relies on tourist visits to support conservation work, which in turn protects communities and ecosystems. When you remove tourists from the equation, as coronavirus has done, how do we continue to protect communities and ecosystems? This is a tricky puzzle, but I’m sure we’ll find a solution.
What are the key metrics from the actions currently being conducted at Misool Resort?
The keys achievements for 2019 are quite impressive – you can read more in the Misool Foundation 2019 Annual Report.
| Donations from Misool Resort to Misool Foundation | USD 358,950.68 |
| Number of patrols by Misool Rangers | 383 |
| Total number of individual manta rays in the Misool Manta Project database | 2011 |
| Number of manta adoptions in 2019 | 104 |
| Metric tons of waste recycled by Community Recycling Programme | 409.3 |
| Payments to the community in exchange for recyclables | USD $49,524 |
| Plastic bottles eliminated | 223,092 |
| Sq. m of coral reef restored | 459.94 |
| Number of turtle nest protected | 49 |
| % of Misool Resort energy usage derived from renewables | 60% |
| Presentation hours to guests | 3150 |
What are the costs and benefits for Misool Resort of running those actions? Do customers care?
Misool Resort guests are incredible. Their support is not just vocal, but we receive a large degree of funding from guests who have been inspired by their experience and have seen the results of our conservation work first-hand. People protect what they love.
Our ever-increasing popularity shows that there is a growing market for genuine operators who ‘walk the walk’ when it comes to conservation. Prior to the coronavirus crisis we were fully booked for almost 18 months in advance.
How do you communicate about your effort on environmental sustainability?
The Misool brand has become synonymous with responsible tourism worldwide and this has been demonstrated by several award wins and accreditations from the tourism and conservation industry:
- 2020: Skal Sustainable Tourism Award
- 2018: Designated a Marine Conservation Institute Blue Park
- 2017: Designated a Mission Blue Hope Spot
- 2017: WTTC Tourism for Tomorrow Award Winner
- 2017: DIVE Travel Award
- 2017: National Geographic Legacy Award Finalist
- 2016: Responsible Tourism Award Longlisted
- 2016: Sustainable Destinations Top 100 Winner
- 2015: PURE Awards Finalist
The Misool Marine Reserve is famed for its biodiversity among filmmakers and, as a result, Misool has featured in several renowned nature documentary series including Netflix’s ‘Our Planet’ and BBC’s Equator from the Sky.
An important part of the guest experience we provide is to engage our guests with our conservation work at every opportunity. Our management teams offer a number of educational talks to our guests during their stay, discussing all aspects of our work, from the true eco approach of our resort build to the Misool Manta Project and Ranger Patrol. The Foundation also sends quarterly newsletters to all guests to keep them updated.
Our team also frequently visits other diving vessels, offering educational talks about our project to their guests. We also provide the dive operators with materials so that they are able to share our work with their guests in our absence.
We offer various means for our guests to financially support our work, from adopting a manta, sponsoring a satellite tag, or even larger scale donations like buying a new boat for our Ranger patrol, as one guest recently did.
We hope that in doing this our guests are more aware of the issues facing the entire marine environment and realize the impact that their choices have when selecting a holiday provider, be it resort or tour operator.
We appointed a sustainability officer in April 2020. As well as making sure that we are meeting our sustainability objectives, a large part of her role is to educate our team about environmental issues.
Based on your career in the hotel industry, what is the one action that all hotels should implement starting tomorrow?
All tourism businesses should value nature as their most important business asset.
How can the hotel industry become more sustainable?
Mass tourism often disregards people and places in pursuit of profit. Tourism should safeguard the natural world and the communities that depend upon it; not just for today or tomorrow, but for generations to come. There is a moral imperative to protect ecosystems and do what we can to restore them to a state of balance. If tourism businesses and governments view nature as a central asset, conservation becomes a clear path to better financial returns. What if ROIs were measured not just in dollars and cents but on biomass recovery, reducing our CO2 footprint, and restoring keystone species?
How can readers help you?
- Follow us on our social media
- Share our work
- Visit Misool Resort
- Donate to Misool Foundation
- Become guardians of their own pocket of the planet
For more information about staying at Misool Resort and plenty of practical tips, you can read my review of the Misool resort here.