A marine park on a remote Indonesian island was this week named the global winner of the British Airways Tourism for Tomorrow awards for the best environmental and responsible tourism projects.

Bunaken National Marine Park in North Sulawesi was chosen by a panel of judges headed by Professor David Bellamy from a shortlist of five category winners. "Bunaken is what natural parks and nature-based tourism are all about," said Bellamy. "This important bio-diverse area is sustainably managed by the local community, safeguarding their own heritage."

The park management has halted damaging activities such as coral mining, mangrove cutting, and blast fishing: as a result the live coral cover has increased by more than 11%. Education programmes have been launched to raise awareness among the 30,000 people who live in the 22 villages within the park's boundaries.

Bunaken attracts some 10,000 visitors a year, most of them divers, who pay entry fees of £3.50 a day to fund the project. Although the Foreign Office advises against non-essential travel to Indonesia, around 1,000 of these visitors flew from Britain via Singapore.