The Derawan Islands are in the province of East Kalimantan

East Kalimantan

East Kalimantan is the second largest Indonesian province, located on the Kalimantan region on the east of Borneo island. The resource-rich province has two major cities, Samarinda and Balikpapan...

 in Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

. They include Derawan, Sangalaki, Kakaban

Kakaban

Kakaban island is part of the Derawan Islands, East Kalimantan, Indonesia.The island has an area of and is quite steep with limestone cliffs covered with dense jungle right down to the water's edge and few beaches...

, Maratua, Panjang, and Samama Island

Island

An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...

 and submerged reefs and islets. They are located in the Sulawesi Sea, on the coastal shelf of East Kalimantan

East Kalimantan

East Kalimantan is the second largest Indonesian province, located on the Kalimantan region on the east of Borneo island. The resource-rich province has two major cities, Samarinda and Balikpapan...

 (2°17'N - 118°13'E).

Biodiversity

Located in a biodiversity

Biodiversity

Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...

 hotspot, the Derawan Islands feature 872 species of reef fishes, 507 species of coral

Coral

Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...

, and invertebrates, including protected species (5 giants clam species, 2 sea turtles, coconut crab, etc). Some of the islands harbor the heavily exploited turtle

Turtle

Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield...

 eggs and yet the largest green turtle nesting site in Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

.

Resources Use

There are two inhabited islands, namely Derawan (1 village of 1,259 people) and Maratua (4 villages of 2,704 people). Fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

 is an important income-generating activity for the community. Since the early 1990s, people have caught live groupers, napoleon wrasse, and lobsters, to fill high demand. There are 3 dive resorts on Derawan Islands , while more additional resorts or facilities are in the planning process.

Problems

Problems in Derawan Islands including:

• Overfishing
  Overfishing
  Overfishing occurs when fishing activities reduce fish stocks below an acceptable level. This can occur in any body of water from a pond to the oceans....
  
   and overexploitation, including turtle egg collection
• Destructive fisheries utilizing cyanide
  Cyanide
  A cyanide is a chemical compound that contains the cyano group, -C≡N, which consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom. Cyanides most commonly refer to salts of the anion CN−. Most cyanides are highly toxic....
  
   and explosives
• Environmental degradation
  Environmental degradation
  Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems and the extinction of wildlife...
  
   caused by diving related activities and unsustainable tourism
  Tourism
  Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
  
   development, especially around the Kakaban lake
• The increase of sedimentation
  Sedimentation
  Sedimentation is the tendency for particles in suspension to settle out of the fluid in which they are entrained, and come to rest against a barrier. This is due to their motion through the fluid in response to the forces acting on them: these forces can be due to gravity, centrifugal acceleration...
  
   due to intensive logging activities in Berau estuary nearby and in the adjacent watershed areas.
• The increase of sewage pollution cased by growing human population on small islands and the intensive tourism development.

Since 2011, Berau Coal Diving Club has helped WWF

World Wide Fund for Nature

The World Wide Fund for Nature is an international non-governmental organization working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States...

 to save the coral reefs of Derawan Island.

Islands

There are 31 named islands (see table)

Names of islands

No.	Island Island An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...  Name	Hectare Hectare The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...  (ha Hectare The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2... )
1.	Semut island	6.9
2.	Andongabu Island	5.3
3.	Bakungan Island	8.7
4.	Bantaian Island	230.6
5.	Besing Island	560.1
6.	Bonggong Island	123.2
7.	Bulingisan Island	4.5
8.	Derawan Island	44.6
9.	Maratua Island	2375.7
10.	Nunukan Nunukan Nunukan is a regency of East Kalimantan in Indonesia.Nunukan is also the name of an island within this regency. It has an area of 226 km2. Nunukan borders with the Malaysian state of Sabah to the north, and Bulungan Regency and Malinau Regency to the south....	4.8
11.	Panjang Island	565.4
12.	Rabu-rabu Island	26.7
13.	Sangalaki Island	15.9
14.	Sangalan Island	3.5
15.	Sapinang Island	241.3
16.	Semama Island	91.1
17.	Sidau Island	31.2
18.	Tiaung Island	372.5
19.	Pabahanan Island	2.0
20.	Kakaban Kakaban Kakaban island is part of the Derawan Islands, East Kalimantan, Indonesia.The island has an area of and is quite steep with limestone cliffs covered with dense jungle right down to the water's edge and few beaches...	774.2
21.	Sodang Besar Island	6145.8
22.	Telasau Island	1080.0
23.	Tempurung Island	1291.2
24.	Bilang-bilangan Island	25.2
25.	Manimbora Island	2.0
26.	Blambangan Island	22.0
27.	Sambit Island	18.0
28.	Mataha Island	25.8
29.	Kaniungan Besar Island	73.3
30.	Kaniungan Kecil Island	10.2
31.	Bali Kukup Island	18.2