Hidden Planet Week
ALL-NEW HIDDEN PLANET
Richard Engel heads to a land that time forgot. Raja Ampat, the four main islands off the West Papuan mainland in Indonesia surrounded by 1,500 smaller islands, spans 10 million acres of land and sea that explode with brilliant green forests and vibrant blue waters.
NBC News' Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel takes a dive into these waters, known to many as an underwater Eden, that have the most biodiversity on the planet.
Leave a Comment:
Glad to see RA is as pretty as it was back in 1996.
Meanwhile, somebody needs to tell supposedly experienced marine biologist to keep his damn hands off the coral.
The MEDIA will do more to exploit it and damage it as any organization in the world, welcome to Green NBC! exploitation at its best!
The medis IS the enemy. politically controlled. Tells us what THEY want us to know. its all a racket. The ultimate Illusion.
Oh...boy.
After this exposure every millionaire who sees themselves as an "environmental advocate" will be taking their entourage to Indonesia so they can see pure nature first hand. It won't be long before there will be Cheetos bags floating in the water and Bud Light cans on the coral.
There already is tons of garbage floating in the water in Raja Ampat, having nothing to do with American millionaires who want to see pristine corals. On a safety stop on one dive I did there in February of this year, I plucked probably ten chip bags out of the water column. I was told there's so much garbage in the water there at times that it washes up knee deep on the shores of the islands. The garbage comes from the Indonesians themselves, who have been treating the oceans as a trash bin for quite some time. A few more bags from rich Americans won't make a bit of difference.
... except once you blab about it on mainstream media with glossy flashy multimedia reports, a place is no longer " hidden".
My list of favorite secluded places around the world and even in my own backyard in northwest Wyoming is steadily shrinking . The travel reporters and tour operators are spreading like a virus - or more like the alien exotic brown snakes not native to Guam but which have now overrun the place after arriving on jet aircraft. Same same.
At least Engel didn't get to the more remote parts of RA. That requires several days travel by boat and is even prettier than the land-based area he visited.
Alas, even back in the '90's, the Chinese had taken most of the sharks in the area (finning). They'd also hire poor locals to catch the big fish (stun them with poison) and keep them alive in hidden underwater cages. At night, fast boats would come down from Hong Kong and elsewhere, pick up the fish, and shoot back north. Indonesian authorities had no chance of catching them. If anyone was arrested, it was the unfortunate locals.
This is the place where I forget about everything. It scares me what people do with this world.
and to bring ruin to those ruining the earth.
Dear NBC: Thank you for taking Richard Engel out of some godforsaken war zone. At least for awhile.
Comment # 10 deleted, racist derail.
andone5150, you are suspended for a day for violating rule # 5 of the Code of Honor.
I had the good fortune to spend two weeks diving Raja Ampat in 2009. The reefs were in good shape and there was a remarkable quantity of fish life. Unfortunately, many of the uninhabited islands we visited had beaches covered with plastic debris (water bottles, fishing line, bags, etc.) We cleaned up what we could but unfortunately such activities are, at this point, a sisyphean task, given the world's consumption and disposal of such pollutants.
It's not the world's consumption, it's the Indonesians trashing their own waters. I saw it constantly. I was there just this year. It's cultural and it has to change. They don't even see the garbage. To them it just blends into the background.
Come on down to Curacao for some great diving! We are a small and local business that provides excellent villas, services and pricing to our guests. With over 35 excellent Trip Advisor reviews and the best in going local, we aim to treat our guests as family so they can enjoy a great holiday...seasidecuracao.com
Was the camera guy's ZOOM button stuck on or something? Less ZOOM, more video.
Is there a reason The Underwater Eden is no longer available?