The crocodile conservation center will become a destination for education tourism
Pangkalpinang, Bangka Belitung (ANTARA) - Bangka Belitung Province will develop a crocodile conservation center at a former tin mine in Air Anyir Village, Bangka District, that would serve as a new tourist destination in the region.

"The crocodile conservation center will become a destination for education tourism. Tourists can observe the reptile feeding attraction," Governor of Bangka Belitung Islands Erzaldi Rosman Djohan noted here on Thursday.

According to Djohan, the provincial administration will work closely with Bangka Belitung's Wildlife Rescue Center (PPS) Alobi Foundation to preserve the reptiles.

"We hope that the conservation center would reduce conflicts between crocodiles and humans, caused by damage to the reptile's habitat," he remarked.

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Manager of the Aloby Foundation Endy Yusuf noted that the wildlife rescue center was ready to assist with managing the crocodile conservation center.

"Currently, we take care of 31 crocodiles in Kampoeng Reklamasi Air Jangkang PT Timah. Usually, crocodiles evacuated to the rescue center were involved in conflicts with local residents," he remarked.

Kampoeng Reklamasi Air Jangkang is a former mine of state-run mining firm PT Timah that was turned into a wildlife conservation area in the province.

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"Currently, we cannot keep these crocodiles for a long time due to limited space. PPS Alobi can only accommodate 40 crocodiles," he revealed.

PT Timah's head of reclamation and post-mining, Christin, noted that the development of a crocodile conservation area is part of its corporate social responsibility to save the reptile from environmental damage due to illegal tin mining and land use change.

The conservation center is expected to become a solution for crocodile-human conflicts that have increased in the past few years, Christin stated.



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Translator: Aprionis, Sri Haryati
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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