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Last of the Sea Nomads

Marine nomads, the Bajau Laut, have lived in the waters of the Coral Triangle for centuries but their way of life and their uniquely intimate relationship with the ocean is being destroyed.

James Morgan

The Bajau Laut are one of the last nomadic marine communities in the world.

For generations, this ethnic group of Malay origin have plied the waters of the Coral Triangle - vast tract of ocean, some 6 million square kilometers, that encompasses Indonesia, Malaysia, East Timor, Papua New Guinea, Philippines and the Solomon Islands. The area is a veritable Amazon of the oceans, said to contain some 75 % of the world's coral species.

In recent years however their way of life has been pushed almost to extinction. Many have been forced to settle permanently on land, but a dwindling number still call the ocean home, living on long boats known as lepa lepa.

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