The Padaido Islands, also known as the Padaido Archipelago, is a group of Islands in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

's Papua Province. They lie in

Cenderawasih Bay Cenderawasih Bay ( id, Teluk Cenderawasih, "Bird of Paradise Bay"), also known as Sarera Bay ( id, Teluk Sarera) and formerly Geelvink Bay ( nl, Geelvinkbaai), is a large bay in northern Province of Papua, Central Papua and West Papua, New Guin ...

, south and southeast of the island of

Biak Biak is an island located in Cenderawasih Bay near the northern coast of Papua, an Indonesian province, and is just northwest of New Guinea. Biak is the largest island in its small archipelago, and has many atolls, reefs, and corals. The large ...

. The archipelago consists of many small islands and coral reefs.

Geography

The Padaido Islands lie between 1°07’ and 1°22’ South Latitude, and 136°10’ and 136°46’ East Longitude. The archipelago consists of 29 islands. Owi lies furthest west. Auki, Pai, Mios Woendi, and Nusi islands are part of the extensive Woendi atoll, contained within a fringing coral reef, which comprise the Padaido District within the Regency. Pekreki Island lies west of the atoll. An eastern group of islands forming the Almando Padaido District includes Padaidori, Bromsi, Pasi, Manggwandi, Workbondi, Insamfursi, Samakur, Dauwi, Wamsor, Runi and other small islands and reefs.Supriharyono (2003). "Coral Reef Management in Padaido Marine Tourism Park, Biak Numfor. ''Journal of Coastal Development''. Volume 6, Number 3, June 2003: 153-161. The islands are generally low, and composed of sand, limestone, or sandstone.Van der Hammen, L. (1983). "Contribution to the Knowledge of the Soil Fauna of New Guinea". Zoologische Verhandelingen 206 (1983) Nine of the islands are inhabited. The residents mostly work as fishers, catching tuna and reef fish. Most fishers use traditional methods such as hook-and-line and nets. Some employ means like poisoning and dynamite fishing, which damage the coral reefs and plants and animals that live there. Politically the islands are part of

Biak Numfor Regency Biak Numfor Regency is one of the regencies (''kabupaten'') in Papua Province of Western New Guinea in northeastern Indonesia. Geography The regency consists two of the three largest members of the Schouten Islands archipelago at the northern en ...

Ecology

The islands are in the

Coral Triangle The Coral Triangle (CT) is a roughly triangular area in the tropical waters around the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste. This area contains at least 500 species of reef-building corals in e ...

, which has the greatest diversity of coral reef species. Marine environments include extensive areas of coral reef and seagrass beds, and smaller areas of mangrove swamp, particularly on Padaidori. The islands have a wet tropical climate. Many of the islands are forested. Beach forests occur on most of the islands. Several islands have groves of coconut palms, and some of the larger islands have areas of lowland tropical forest growing on limestone substrates. Some beach forests are composed mostly of ''

Casuarina ''Casuarina'' is a genus of 17 tree species in the family Casuarinaceae, native to Australia, the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, islands of the western Pacific Ocean, and eastern Africa. It was once treated as the sole genus in the fa ...

'', while others have a mix of species including the trees and shrubs ''

Barringtonia asiatica ''Barringtonia asiatica'' (fish poison tree, putat or sea poison tree) is a species of ''Barringtonia'' native to mangrove habitats from islands of the Indian Ocean in the west to tropical Asia and islands of the western Pacific Ocean. It is g ...

Pandanus tectorius ''Pandanus tectorius'' is a species of ''Pandanus'' (screwpine) that is native to Malesia, Papuasia, eastern Australia, and the Pacific Islands. It grows in the coastal lowlands typically near the edge of the ocean. Common names in English incl ...

Hibiscus tiliaceus ''Hibiscus tiliaceus'', commonly known as the sea hibiscus or coast cottonwood, is a species of flowering tree in the mallow family, Malvaceae, with a pantropical distribution along coastlines. It has also been introduced to Florida and New Zea ...

, Scaevola frutescens'', and ''

Terminalia catappa ''Terminalia catappa'' is a large tropical tree in the leadwood tree family, Combretaceae, native to Asia, Australia, the Pacific, Madagascar and Seychelles. Common names in English include country almond, Indian almond, Malabar almond, sea almon ...

''. ''

Crinum asiaticum ''Crinum asiaticum'', commonly known as poison bulb, giant crinum lily, grand crinum lily, or spider lily, is a plant species widely planted in many warmer regions as an ornamental. It is a bulb-forming perennial producing an umbel of large, sh ...

'' and the parasitic plant ''

Cassytha filiformis ''Cassytha filiformis'' or love-vine is an orangish, wiry, parasitic vine in the laurel family (Lauraceae), found in warm tropical regions worldwide in the Americas, Africa, Asia, Australia, and the Pacific. It is an obligate parasite, meaning it ...

'' are found the beach forest understory.

Padaido Marine Recreation Park

Padaido Marine Recreation Park, established in 2009, encompasses the islands and the sea around them."KKPN Padaido.". ''Protected Planet.''. Accessed 11 July 2021

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References

{{reflist Schouten Islands Biak–Numfoor rain forests