Eastern Lesser Sunda Islands and Timor Coastal Area IMMA
Size in Square Kilometres
1 260 km2
Qualifying Species and Criteria
Dugong – Dugong dugon
Criterion A; B (1); C (2)
Marine Mammal Diversity
Stenella attenuata, Peponocephala electra, Grampus griseus
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Summary
The Lesser Sunda Coastal Area IMMA comprises a non-contiguous area of water and small islands from Bali to the Wetar Islands. It contains the four provincial administrative areas of Bali, West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, and Maluku. This area consists of coastal areas of the Sabu Islands, Rote Islands, the eastern part of Flores, and Timor Island. In addition, it shares a border with Timor Leste and northern Australia. This IMMA is considered as a suitable habitat for dugong (Dugong dugon) due to numerous seagrass meadows and a high number of sightings of dugongs in this area. Sighting information from a participatory mapping process of coastal community local knowledge, a ground-truthing survey and direct sightings, have confirmed that dugongs are found at 25 locations within the area. Sightings are mostly of single individuals, and 5 individuals sighted in Oelolot-Ndoo Island and Rote Island. The species is increasingly vulnerable due to habitat loss and overlap with human activities such as seaweed farming.
Description of Qualifying Criteria
Criterion A – Species or Population Vulnerability
Dugong dugon (Muller, 1776) has been assessed as a Vulnerable species by the IUCN Red List since 1982. The data on the population in Indonesia or even across the Lesser Sunda remains limited. It is estimated that there are around 1,000 individuals in Indonesia (Marsh et al. 2002). Therefore, the Indonesian government declared the dugong as a fully protected species along with all other marine mammals (Government Regulation – No. 7.1999). The species is becoming increasingly vulnerable due to habitat lost and overlap with human activities such as none eco-friendly seaweed farming activities.
Criterion B: Distribution and Abundance
Sub-criterion B1: Small and Resident Populations
According to sightings information from a participatory citizen mapping process that gathered information from more than 1500 fishers and coastal community’s local knowledge, as well as ground-truthing surveys and direct sightings, dugongs have been recorded in at least 25 locations within the IMMA area. Most were single individuals, with 5 individuals sighted in Oelolot-Ndoo Island, and Rote Island (Merryanto et al. 2017; unpublished data from The Nature Conservancy, unpublished data from Misool Foundation). One individual dugong is seen regularly at Mali Beach Alor (Juraij et al. 2016).
Criterion C: Key Life Cycle Activities
Sub-criterion C2: Feeding Areas
In the Eastern Lesser Sunda Islands and Timor Coastal Area IMMA dugongs are recorded close to seagrass areas (Merryanto et al. 2017). Seagrass habitats in Alor consist of Halophila ovalis, Halodule uninervis, Enhalus acoroides, Thalassia hemprichii, Cymodocea rotundata, Cymodocea serrulata, and Syringodium isoetifolium (Juraij et al. 2016).
Supporting Information
Juraij, S.D., Tania, C., Wijanarko, T., Khaifin, Santiadji, V. and Hadinata, S.Y. 2016. Survey dugong dan habitat lamun (Survey of dugong and seagrass habitat). Technical report. WWF-Indonesia.
Juraij, S.D. and Munandar, E. 2017. Survey bioekologi dan tingkah laku dugong di Kelurahan Kabola perairan SAP Selat Pantar dan Laut Sekitarnya Kabupaten Alor, Nusa Tenggara Timur (Bioecology and behaviour survey of dugong in Kabola village waters of Pantar Strait and surrounding waters Nature Marine Sanctuary, Alor District, East Nusa Tenggara). Technical report. WWF-Indonesia.
Kahn, B. 2003. Solor-Alor Visual and Acoustic Cetacean Surveys. Interim Report April – May 2003 Survey Period. The Nature Conservancy and APEX Environmental Cetacean Survey.
Khan, B., Fajariyanto, Y. 2014. Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) for Cetaceans in the Savu Sea Marine National Park. The Nature Conservancy – Indonesia Coasts and Oceans Program. 45 pp.
Marsh, H., Penrose, H., Eros, C., and Hugues, J. 2002. Dugong status report and action plan for countries and territories. UNEP. Early warning and assessment report series. 162 pp.
Mustika, P.L.K. 2005. Linking the two seas: Lessons learned from Savu Sea (Indonesia) for marine mammal conservation in Timor Sea. Contribution to Pacem in Maribus XXXI Conference 31 October – 3 November 2005.
Mustika, P.L.K. 2006. Marine mammals in the Savu Sea (Indonesia): Indigenous knowledge, threatnalysis, and management options. For the degree of Master of Science. James Cook University.
Putra, M.I.H., Topan, Y. and Lewis. T. 2017. Marine Megafauna in Solor Waters, East Flores – East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia 2016 – 2017. Misool Foundation, Savu Sea Program, Indonesia. 61 pp.
Spalding, M.D., Fox, H.E., Allen, G.R., Davidson, N., Ferdaña, Z.A., Finlayson, M., Halpern, B.S., Jorge, M.A., Lombana, A., Lourie, S.A., Martin, K.D., McManus, E., Molnar, J., Recchia, C.A. and Robertson, J. 2007. Marine Ecoregions of the World: a bioregionalization of coast and shelf areas. BioScience 57: 573-583.
Welly, M., Lazuardi, M.E., Sanjaya, W., Prasetya, D. and Hendrawan, G. 2016. Kondisi biofisik dan social ekonomi Pesisir Bali-2015. Denpasar: Pemerintah Provinsi Bali dan The Nature Conservancy.
Wen, W., Hutasoit, P., Tomasouw, J., Wibowo, J.T., Jompa, J. and Wijonarno, A. 2015. Kajian biofisik pembentukan jejaring Kawasan Konservasi Perairan di wilayah Bentang luat Sunda Kecil. Kemeterian Kelautan dan Perikanan. Supported by: WWF-Indonesia & Nusa Dua Reef Foundation.
Merryanto, Y., Rusydi, Sri, N., Vimeris, M. T. and Fajariyanto, Y. 2017. Pemetaan Partisipatif di Ekoregion Sunda Kecil (Participatory mapping of Lesser Sunda Ecoregion). The Nature Conservancy – Indonesia Coasts and Ocean Program. 140 hal.
