Thousand Islands (Indonesia)

Thousand Islands (Kepulauan Seribu) is the only regency of Jakarta, Indonesia. A string of 105 islands stretching 45 kilometres north into the Java Sea, with the closest lying in Jakarta Bay only a few kilometres off mainland Jakarta.

With total land area of 8.7 km² the population is about 20,000. Pulau Pramuka is the regency seat of the Thousand Islands although the most populated island is Panggang. The area is a marine national park although development is allowed on 37 of the islands. Some islands are uninhabited, others have resorts and a number of them are privately owned by wealthy Jakartans.

Administrative

Formally a regency of North Jakarta, it is divided into 2 subdistricts:

• North Thousand Islands (Kepulauan Seribu Utara)
• South Thousand Islands (Kepulauan Seribu Selatan)

Trade

Fishing is the main trade of the islands. However, there has been a drop in the value of the trade due to overfishing by fishing vessels operating in the area.

Islands

Bidadari is a resort island only several kilometers off shore, Kelor is adjacent Bidadari on which the ruins of a Dutch fort lie, and Onrust is also adjacent Bidadari and has the remains of an 18th century shipyard. Ayer and Laki are resort islands also only several kilometers offshore.

Panggang the district centre, and Kelapa the most populous island are about 15 kilometers north of Jakarta and are poor fishing villages. Panjang has the islands' only airstrip while Bira has a golf course. Kotok, Macan Besar, Putri, Pelangi, Sepa, Papa Theo, Antuk Timur, and Antuk Barat are all further off shore and have resorts.

External links

• Webpage on the official site of Jakarta
• PulauSeribu.net
• Information of the national park