Raja Ampat,'Last Paradise on Earth', under Threat

He complained that the government had turned a deaf ear to calls for a system of public ferries to transport people and goods, in large part because crooked contractors and corrupt officials were pushing road projects, which were being built haphazardly and with little regard for the ecosystem.

Devastating assaults on the archipelago are also coming from dynamite fishing -- which is officially banned but "still exists" according to Lamatenggo -- and from coastal mining projects.

"I'd expect they'll ruin the place," joked Helmut Hochstetter, a 60-year-old German, as he prepared for a dive in the company of manta rays.

"Better then to enjoy it while we still can," he said before disappearing under water.