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Barat Daya Islands

Native name: Kepulauan Barat Daya
Barat Daya Islands in the south ofMaluku Islands
Geography
Location	Southeast Asia
Archipelago	Maluku Islands
Major islands	Damar,Kisar,Liran,Romang,Wetar
Administration
Indonesia
Province	Maluku
Additional information
Time zone	Indonesia Eastern Standard Time (UTC+09:00)

TheBarat Daya Islands (Indonesian:Kepulauan Barat Daya;Indonesian pronunciation:[kəpuˌlawanˌbarat̚ˈdaja]) are a group ofislands in theMaluku province ofIndonesia. The Indonesian phrasebarat daya means 'south-west'.

These islands are located off the eastern end ofEast Timor. Wetar is the largest island in the group. To the west, theOmbai Strait separates Wetar fromAlor Island, part ofEast Nusa Tenggara. TheWetar Strait separates Wetar fromTimor to the south.

Even though included in the Indonesian Maluku province political division, the southwestern islands are geographically part of theLesser Sunda Islands. Rainfall is limited with a dry season between October and December when some of the islands appear as dry savannah.^[1] The Barat Daya Islands except Wetar are part of theBanda Sea Islands moist deciduous forestsecoregion. Wetar and Timor comprise theTimor and Wetar deciduous forests ecoregion.^[2] Most of the islands are barren, infertile and minimally forested.^[1]

Together withTimor,Nusa Tenggara,Sulawesi, and most of Maluku, the Barat Daya Islands are part ofWallacea, the group of Indonesian islands that are separated by deep water from both the Australian and Asian continental shelves. The islands of Wallacea have never been linked by land to eitherAsia orAustralia, and as a result have few mammals and a mix of flora and fauna from both continents.

Among the islands within the archipelago are (from west to east):

• Liran
• Wetar
• Kisar
• Nyata
• Romang
• Leti Islands (Leti, Moa, Lakor)
• Sermata Islands
• Damer
• Babar Islands

• Layoni (Teun Island)

The islands are part of theInner Banda Arc, a volcanicisland arc created by the collision of theIndo-Australian Plate and theEurasian Plate. Romang and Damar are volcanic; Wetar consists mostly of oceanic crust that was pushed to the surface by the colliding plates. The Barat Daya and Banda islands constitute an inner arc; the outer arc, which includes Timor, theTanimbar Islands, and theKai Islands, is mostly made up of oceanic crust lifted up by the collision, and wraps around south and east of the inner arc.

Unlike much of the rest of the Maluku Islands, the Barat Daya Islands did not participate in the inter-island trade over the centuries. Damar was the region's only island to have produced spice. Too remote from the centre of the Malukan spice trade, the Dutch destroyed the nutmeg trees on Babar. Bugis and Makarassarese annually sailed to coral-rich Luang to purchase reef products such astrepang andmother of pearl.^[1]

The Maluku Barat Daya Regency is administratively composed of seventeendistricts (kecamatan), whose areas (in km²) and 2013 officially estimated populations are listed below.:^[3]The districts are formally grouped into three archipelagoes – theTerselatan Group (including Wetar, as well as Kisar and Romang Islands), theLemola Group (Letti, Moa and Lakor) and theBabar Group (including the Damer and Sermata Islands). The areas (in km²)^[4] and the populations at the 2010 census^[5] and 2020 census,^[6] together with the official estimates as at mid 2023,^[4] are listed below. The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number ofadministrative villages in each district (totaling 117 ruraldesa and 1 urbankelurahan – the latter beingTiakur on Moa Island), and its post code.

Notes:
(a) the 2010 populations for the four districts which comprised Pulau Pulau Wetar District are listed under Wetar Selatan District.
(b) the 2010 populations of Kisar Utara and Kepulauan Roma Districts are included under the figure for Kisar Selatan District (formerly called Pulau Pulau Terselatan District), from which they were split off.
(c) the 2010 population of Lakor District is included in the figure for Moa District, from which it was split off.
(d) the 2010 population of Pulau Wetang District is included in the figure for Babar Barat District (formerly called Pulau Pulau Babar District), from which it was split off.
(e) the 2010 populations of Pulau Masela and Daweloor Dawera Districts are included under the figure for Babar Timur District, from which they were split off.

• List of islands of Indonesia
• Maluku Islands
• Maluku (province)

7°45′S126°15′E / 7.75°S 126.25°E /-7.75; 126.25

• Barat Daya Islands
• Volcanoes of the Maluku Islands
• Archipelagoes of Indonesia
• Landforms of Maluku (province)
• Inner Banda Arc
• Islands of the Maluku Islands
• Populated places in Indonesia

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