Through the policy, it is hoped that tourism activities will continue to run well, thus it can provide benefits and income to the community, while preserving the Komodo dragon's population and habitat.
Kupang, NTT (ANTARA) - The Environment and Forestry Ministry has decided to limit the number of tourists visiting Komodo National Park, West Manggarai District, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Province, to protect the population of Komodo dragons.

According to a statement received from the Administrative Bureau of the Regional Secretariat of NTT Province here on Monday, the decision was announced by Deputy Minister of Environment and Forestry Alue Dohong after a meeting with Deputy Governor of NTT Josef A Nae Soi regarding restricting the entry of visitors to the park.

The deputy minister said that the park is one of the world's natural heritages with a high outstanding universal value (OUV).

However, the number of tourist visits to the park has tended to increase, he noted.

"The restriction intends to mitigate the negative impact of tourism activities on the preservation of the population of Komodo dragons and other animals, preserve the ecosystem sustainability of Komodo Island and Padar Island, as well as maintain the safety of tourists and officers during their visit to the park," he explained.

He informed that the ministry’s Komodo National Park Center (BTNK), along with a number of experts from several universities in Indonesia, had studied the ecosystem service-based tourism carrying capacity and assimilative capacity (DDDTW) of Komodo Island and Padar Island.

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He said that the study suggested that the ideal number of visitors each year should be 219 thousand for Komodo Island and 39,420 for Padar Island.

So far, BTNK has allowed tourists to visit Padar Island three times a day, with 100 people permitted per schedule.

However, according to the study, the number of visitors to Padar Island can be increased by 2 to 2.5 times by considering the carrying capacity of the tourism infrastructure in the area, such as tracking posts, public toilets, tracking safety equipment, rangers, as well as medical personnel.

Dohong said that the visitor restriction policy should be implemented through digital apps to facilitate tourism services, for instance, online accommodation booking.

“Through the policy, it is hoped that tourism activities will continue to run well, thus it can provide benefits and income to the community, while preserving the Komodo dragon's population and habitat," he added.

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Translator: Benediktus Jahang, Uyu Liman
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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