Kakaban Island

Kakaban island is part of the Derawan Islands, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Kakaban shaped like the number nine and there is a lake in the middle. At the beginning, the lake is a lagoon of an atoll, formed by rocks more than 2 million years ago. On that time, for thousand years the rock rose into above sea level.

Ecosystem changes in Lake Kakaban occur gradually, in which rain water and ground water mixed with salt water.

Life on Lake Kakaban basically are seawater creatures. Over thousands of years they adapted to brackish water environment that was isolated because of sea water seems to go into the lake through the cracks in the rocks on the surrounding rocks and mixed with rain water. There is no large crack that connect the lake to the sea, so no large animals in Lake Kakaban.

The only lakes are known with similar ecosystems Kakaban Lake is located in Palau, a country in Micronesia, with fewer species than Kakaban.

Kakaban can be reached via the sea from Tanjung Redeb, the Capital of Berau Regency. It takes about 2.5 hours by speed boat or seven hours with a regular motorboat.

Kakaban surrounded by high cliffs that are steep, so a landing had to achieve from flat and open areas. After going through the wooden stairs then the visitor will find one of the world's heritage.

For diving, there are several points that are considered essential for its beauty, places that are named Barracuda Point, Cabbage Patch, The Drift, The Plateau and Rainbow Run, The Wall, Blue Light Cave, Diver `s Delight and The North Face. Variations of the various types of dive sites is certainly a tremendous thrill for the experienced diver to see the wonders of the world.

Kakaban will attract tourists with its uniqueness. For example, jellyfish lake in Palau have been visited by more than 30,000 visitors / tourists per year while Palau has a population of only 15,000 people inhabiting an area of 487 km2. Compared with a population of 99,738 Berau people in 1996 and has an area of 24,201 km2. If Lake Kakaban can get 10% of the number of visitors coming to Palau-per-year, and charged the entry fee of US$ 7 per person, the amount of revenue will go to local governments is approximately US$ 21,000 or 172 million rupiahs per year not including other financial benefits gained through the facilities of transportation, lodging, and tax revenues from tourism managers and other service agencies.

Like the sea surround it, Kakaban organisms in the lake may also have the substances with the function of drugs, which threatened gone before we know it. Integrated management planning is a very important tool for managing national assets efficiently and sustainably. Development activities aimed at short-term could jeopardize future development in all regions and economic income.

In connection with the tourism potential, Lake Kakaban may be in threatened condition if precautions are not done early. This threat can be caused by the impact of uncontrolled tourism that cause pollution, increased sedimentation, and physical damage caused by visitors who swim in the lake, use of outboard engines on the lake resulted in disturbance of habitats, species extinction, and will eventually result in decreasing the potential for tourism.