We are pleased to announce the successful young marine conservationists and future leaders who have been selected to become 2017 MantaWatch Interns.

This year’s MantaWatch interns will join our team in West Manggarai and Komodo from September 4 to 29, where they will work to promote collaborative marine conservation with local stakeholders, including government, communities and the marine tourism industry. Supported by Guy’s Trust, each intern will receive a Guy Joseph MantaWatch Award, providing a fully funded scholarship to the program.

Axel Ivander

Axel is a natural sciences student from the University of Indonesia. With his university’s Marine Biology department Axel has learned about monitoring coral and seagrass habitats. Through the MantaWatch Internship Programme he hopes to learn more about monitoring marine wildlife species.

Ida Asyari Utomo

Ida is a biology student from Gadjah Mada University. Her ambition is to become a marine conservationist and work to protect Indonesia’s marine ecosystems.

Syenit Enita

Syenit is an oceanography student from Diponegoro University. She is interested in the conservation of marine megafauna and how human activities impact these species. Syenit is also a keen graphic designer and videomaker and wants to apply these skills to improve the communication of conservation science to the general public.

Wedi Andika

Wedi is a marine science and technology student from Bogor Agricultural University. As a member of his university’s Fisheries Diving Club, he had a chance to participate in coral reef ecological monitoring surveys. Wedi hopes the MantaWatch Internship Programme will help him to raise awareness in Indonesia about the crucial threats facing manta rays and other marine wildlife.

Willy Angraini

Willy is a marine science and technology student from Bogor Agricultural University. Her research interests include the effects of water quality on the distribution of marine wildlife.