About Us
Sustainability & Community Impact
Raja Ampat is a masterpiece of nature, a global epicenter of marine biodiversity.
We at Raja Ampat Liveaboard Voyages believe that to operate in this paradise is not a right, but a privilege that carries profound responsibility. As a core tenet of our parent, Juara Holding Group, our mission is to ensure that our presence is not just benign, but actively beneficial to the ecosystems and communities of West Papua. Our commitment to sustainability is woven into every aspect of our operations, from vessel selection to community engagement.
01
Environmental Stewardship
Our approach to protecting the environment is proactive and multifaceted, focusing on measurable actions and partnerships.
- Carbon Offsetting Program: We acknowledge the carbon footprint of travel. In partnership with the Indonesian carbon-offset platform Jejak.in, we calculate the emissions from our clients' domestic flights (e.g., Jakarta to Sorong) and a portion of the vessel's fuel consumption. We then invest in certified carbon sequestration projects, such as mangrove reforestation in other parts of Indonesia, to offset this impact.
- Direct Conservation Funding: A percentage of the revenue from every voyage booked is donated directly to our key conservation partners, the Misool Foundation and the Raja Ampat Research and Conservation Centre (RARCC). This provides them with vital, untied funds to support their ranger patrols, scientific research, and community outreach programs.
- Strict No Single-Use Plastic Policy: We mandate that every vessel in our portfolio has a complete ban on single-use plastic bottles, straws, and bags. All vessels must have onboard water filtration systems providing guests with fresh, safe drinking water in reusable containers.
- Reef-Safe Practices: We educate all guests on responsible diving and snorkeling etiquette through our pre-trip materials and onboard briefings. We also ensure our partner vessels provide complimentary reef-safe sunscreen and use only biodegradable cleaning products.
03
How Is the Raja Ampat Marine Park Fee Allocated in 2026?
As of 2026, every visitor pays two separate government charges on arrival in Waisai or Sorong: a conservation-focused Marine Park Entry Permit and a smaller infrastructure-focused Visitor Entry Ticket, both valid for one calendar year. Neither fee is set, collected, or kept by any liveaboard operator — including us — since both are administered directly by the regional marine park authority.
| Fee component | Indicative 2026 rate | What it primarily funds |
|---|---|---|
| Marine Park Entry Permit (Environmental Service Fee / SIL) | IDR 700,000 per person | Ranger patrols against illegal and blast fishing, reef and manta-station monitoring, environmental education programs |
| Visitor Entry Ticket | IDR 300,000 per person | Jetty and port upkeep, village-level waste facilities, tourism infrastructure |
We collect both amounts during check-in and pass them through to the authority without markup. Rates are indicative and subject to government revision without notice, so we confirm the current figure with guests before each departure rather than quote a fixed price years in advance.
04
What Reef-Protection Work Does Each Trip Actually Fund or Support?
Beyond the entrance fee itself, several reef-specific practices are built into the route and diving protocol, not just into a conservation budget line.
- Manta cleaning-station protocol: sites referenced in our manta ray season guide are approached by drift only, engines off well before the cleaning rock, since manta rays abandon a station if repeatedly disturbed.
- Shark and ray sanctuary compliance: Raja Ampat's waters have operated as one of the region's earliest shark and ray sanctuaries since 2012; crew log every shark, ray, and turtle sighting for the authority's monitoring records.
- Reef-rest rotation: sites such as those on our dive sites overview are skipped for a season when the authority reports bleaching or storm damage, rather than dived on a fixed schedule regardless of reef condition.
- Informal reef monitoring: guides carry slates to note visible bleaching, breakage, or crown-of-thorns outbreaks, passed on to the ranger post — a supplement to, not a replacement for, official monitoring.
05
What Is the Onboard Waste-Management Protocol?
This is one of the most common questions behind sustainable Raja Ampat liveaboard practices: waste is split into three streams at the point it is generated, and nothing solid goes overboard at any point in the trip.
- Organic waste is sealed and held; if released in open water, it happens only well outside reef and anchorage zones, never near villages.
- Recyclables and hazardous items (batteries, cooking oil, cleaning chemicals) are stored separately and offloaded at Waisai's shore facility at trip's end.
- Greywater passes through a basic filter before discharge; blackwater is held in tanks and pumped out only at the designated shore facility, not near reefs.
- Single-use plastic is excluded from provisioning; guests refill the aluminum bottle issued at boarding from onboard dispensers for the full trip.
06
Who Manages Raja Ampat Marine Conservation, and Who Do We Work Within?
Raja Ampat's marine protected area network, covering roughly 20,000 km² of regional waters, was established in the 2000s with technical and funding support from international conservation groups including Conservation International Indonesia and The Nature Conservancy, and is now run day-to-day by the regional MPA authority. We operate inside this publicly managed system rather than running a parallel private program — the bodies, certifications, and audits relevant to our own operations are listed on our partners and affiliations page. Every guest booking a Raja Ampat liveaboard package with us contributes to this system automatically through the entry fees above, on top of the crew-employment and village programs detailed earlier on this page.
Have a question about current permit rates, a specific itinerary's reef stops, or our onboard waste routine before you book? Message our team directly on WhatsApp at +62 811-3823-875 or email sales@komodoluxury.com — part of Juara Holding Group, operating from Bali across Indonesia since 2015.
About Us
More in About Us
Related reading
Plan Your Raja Ampat Voyage
Our dive concierge team is ready to design your private phinisi charter. We manage all logistics — from arrival in Sorong to your departure.