(TAN): Local residents have strongly opposed plans to build a “Jurassic Park” at the Rinca Island of East Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia. They fear this will threaten the natural habitat of the famous Komodo National Park, which the island is a part of, reports said.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Komodo National Park of Indonesia is located in the border region between the provinces of East Nusa Tenggara and West Nusa Tenggara. The park includes the three larger islands Komodo, Padar and Rinca and several small ones. The park was established to protect the Komodo dragon, world’s largest lizard.
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“All of us who are active in tourism and conservationism strongly reject the plan to build a geopark at the Loh Buaya area [in Rinca Island],” reports quoted Venan Haryanto, a member of a local conservation and tourism association,the West Manggarai Tourism Rescue Society Forum (Formapp), as saying.
According to Haryanto, the construction plan involves establishing concrete-based structures which are against Komodo’s natural habitat. Formapp has already notified UNESCO and UNEP about the activities.
The plan of the park includes drilling wells. Locals believe such construction will eventually destroy the natural landscape of the Rinca Island’s wildlife habitat that depends on the island’s natural water sources. The area has been named as a national conservation site and a natural area protected under Forestry Ministry’s Law.
Local businessmen fear if the proposed park becomes a reality, the nature-based tourism businesses, which the island is known for, will be under severe threat. According to reports, a group of local businessmen are already demanding the Indonesian government to halt the construction of the geopark at Rinca Island. Locals also alleged, there have been attempts to transform the National Komodo Park into an investment area and demanded the government to protect the region’s natural resources as a long-term asset.
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However, East Nusa Tenggara tourism agency head Wayan Darmawa said the construction of Rinca Island has thoroughly considered the security aspect for tourists who will visit the location as he defends it separates the komodo area with tourist areas.
The sequence of events are latest additions to the controversy surrounding the Komodo National Park. In July, 2019, authorities announced that Komodo Island will be closed for the entire duration of 2020 to stop tourists interfering with the natural behaviour of the largest species of lizard on earth. In October, 2019 however, the decision was called off with the country’s environment ministry saying that Komodo dragons living there are not under threat from over-tourism. A higher entry fee was also proposed by the authorities to limit the number of tourist visits.
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