Komodo National Park

The Komodo National Park ( Taman Nasional Komodo Indonesian ) is located in Indonesia, in the area of the Lesser Sunda Islands in the border area of the provinces of East Nusa Tenggara and West Nusa Tenggara.

It includes the three larger islands Komodo, Rinca and Padar, and numerous smaller, with a total land area of ​​603 km ², with a total surface area of the national park of 1817 square kilometers.

The park was established in 1980, originally as a protected area for the Komodo dragon. Later he was the preservation of the entire flora and fauna, also dedicated to the maritime sector. In the waters around the islands in 1000 fish species, 260 species of reef corals, 70 different sponges, 17 whale and dolphin species and two species of sea turtles. Since the beginning of the protective measures that dynamite fishing was stopped and the surface covered with corals grew by 60 percent. For divers, the park is popular because of its biodiversity.

The larger mammals of the park are Asiatic origin. The mane deer, the main prey of the Komodo dragon dar. There are also wild pigs, cynomolgus monkeys, Fleckenmusangs ( Paradoxurus hermaphroditus lehmanni ), water buffalo and horses. A special feature is the endemic rat Rattus dar. rintjanus

The islands of the national park are of volcanic origin. In his area about 4000 inhabitants live in four settlements. In 1991, the National Park by UNESCO was recognized as a World Heritage Site. The town of Labuan Bajo on Flores is the starting point for most travelers.

Tourism

Komodo dragons are the main attraction for tourists in the Komodo National Park. Within the National Park Komodo currently 3267 people living in four villages immediately around the park live 16,816 people (as of 2007 ). Tourism began in the 1980s with the founding of the National Park, in the year 1995/96, approximately 30,000 tourists were counted, of which 93 % are foreigners, mostly Dutch, German, British, Americans and Australians. So far, Komodo is almost exclusively developed for tourists, most guests make for a vacation in South East Asia a day trip to the island. In the year 1995/96 tourists gave 1.1 million dollars to Komodo; criticism is that only about 1% of that money goes to residents of the National Park. However, according to a survey of much of the population were from 1996 disposed toward tourism: 92.7 % stated that they would be glad to see more tourists. Nevertheless, some voices have been raised that tourism is the culture of the Lesser Sunda Islands vandalize, and that products and services were more expensive. 47.4 % of the poor in the general population complained that only already rich residents would benefit, and 27.3 % reported that their family would benefit from tourism does not noticeably. Controversial is also the practice to attract the difficult to be observed with Komodo dragons slaughtered goats at special "viewing sites" for tourists. Because the Komodo dragons are strongly bound to these sites and found in high concentrations, the spatial behavior could be significantly affected and intraspecific aggression are favored, or the livestock connect people with food, and attack them in anticipation of food. This contrasts with that of the sale of goats as bait the local population contributes to a third of their income on tourism.