Obira
| Obira | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Waters | Seramsee | |
| Archipelago | Obi Islands | |
| Geographical location | 1 ° 34 ′ S , 127 ° 42 ′ E | |
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| length | 47 km | |
| width | 84 km | |
| surface | 2 542 km² | |
| Highest elevation | 1611 m | |
| Residents | 29,642 (2010) 12 inhabitants / km² |
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| main place | Laiwui | |
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Obira (Indonesian Pulau Obi , North Island; also Obi , Obi Major or Utara ) is an Indonesian island in the Seram Sea . It is the main island of the Obi Islands , which are part of the Moluccas . With 2542 km² it is the seventh largest island in this group of islands. Politically, it belongs to the Northern Moluccas Province (Maluka Utara) and the Southern Halmahera District.
geography
Obira is located in the Seram Sea , but borders in the northwest on the Molucca Sea and in the northeast on the Halmahera Sea . The island is located south of Halmahera , the main island of the Moluccas, as well as the Bacan Islands , from which it is separated by the Obi Strait. In the west is the island of Mangole , one of the Sula Islands , in the southeast and southwest behind the Seram Sea Seram and Buru . The next island in the east is Misool , which however no longer belongs to the Moluccas. The next largest of the Obi Islands are Bisa and Obilatu in the northwest and Tobalai in the east, Gumumu in the south and Tapat und Belangbelang in the northwest. However, these islands only take up a fraction of the area of Obira.
Obi is mountainous inland and partly densely forested, the highest point in the center of the island is 1611 meters. The island is 84 kilometers from east to west and 47 kilometers from north to south. The island has a tropical rainforest climate, the annual average temperature is 21 ° C with monthly average temperatures between 20 and 22 ° C. The annual rainfall amounts to 2538 mm, with 312 mm in June and 78 mm in October.
population
In 2010, just under 30,000 people lived on Obira. Settlement is mainly concentrated on the coast, the high regions are sparsely populated. The largest villages are Laiwui on the north coast (main village), Sesepe on the northeast coast, Wui (Wooi) on the southeast coast and Fluk on the south coast. In the interior there are only a few settlements for miners and for carnation farmers during the carnation harvest. About 1500 of the residents are students.
The island has no indigenous people. The first tribe to settle here was the Buton tribe. The tribes Tobelo-Galela, Ternate, Tidore, Makian-Kayoa, Bugis, Makassar and Jawa followed. They settled on the coast and lived as fishermen and farmers. The Papuan languages Galela and Tobelu are spoken on Obira .
economy
Agriculture and fishing are self-sufficient. Wood is felled for export on a large scale, and copra (coconut), cocoa beans , cloves , nutmeg and pepper are also marketed. A 130 square kilometer wooded area is to be designated as a nature reserve, while the industrial mining of nickel ore is in the testing phase. The completion of the feasibility study carried out by an Indonesian company in cooperation with a Chinese company for an estimated 2 million US dollars was planned for August 2008. Extensive deforestation and the creation of a port are required for this. There are also gold, coal and oil deposits on the island.
The main town of Laiwui on the coast in the north has the only landing stage on the island for passenger ships. The center of the village is about one kilometer from the pier. The other settlements along the coast can only be reached from ships by changing to small boats. Pelni ships do not call at Obi , there are regular connections with smaller ships via the neighboring island of Gomumu to the south with Ambon and with a stopover at Bisa Island with the main town of Labuha on Bacan Island . The only real road connects some places on the north coast, otherwise there are isolated lumberjack trails that are difficult to drive.
Tourism is not a big industry on Obira. The main activities are diving and other water sports as the underwater world around Obi is very biodiverse. Obira also has red and white beaches. The main attraction is the small offshore island of Sambiki with pristine beaches and snorkeling opportunities. The only places to stay are in Laiwui.
nature
The butterfly species Ornithoptera aesacus from the knight butterfly family is endemic to the island . It is classified as endangered by the IUCN as the deforestation reduces its habitat. The Obi-Kuskus ( Phalanger rothschildi ) is also endemic to the Obi Islands , and the endemic caruncle fruit pigeon ( Ptilinopus granulifrons ) is classified as endangered .
A total of 189 bird species and at least 15 mammal species were found, including introduced species such as wild boar , Pacific rat , Asian house rat and native swimming rats as well as various bats, flying foxes and a type of white-toothed shrew .
Individual evidence
- ↑ NASA Earth Observations: Rainfall (1 month - TRMM) , NASA / Tropical Rainfall Monitoring Mission
- ↑ Nickel and Cobalt Mining in Indonesia - Overview. MBendi, August 10, 2004 ( Memento of May 16, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Antam to team up with Tsingshan to develop nickel mines in Obi. Indonesian Commercial Newsletter, October 1, 2007 ( Memento from June 30, 2018 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ The Obi Islands: North Maluku's South , east-indonesia.info
- ↑ Global Biodiversity Information Facility , entry for Ornithoptera aesacus
- ↑ List of bird species found on Obira