Primeval predators: A pair of Komodo dragons are out looking for food in this recent picture taken at Komodo Island in Flores, East Nusa Tenggara. The Komodo Island National Park has been proposed by the Indonesian government to be included as one of the world’s seven wonders. JP/Ricky Yudhistira
The government has called on citizens to vote online to get the famed Komodo National Park onto the prestigious New Seven Wonders of Nature list.
“Currently, Komodo National Park is ranked 12th out of 57 in the New Seven Wonders of Nature list,” Sapta Nirwandar, the Culture and Tourism Ministry’s director general of marketing, told The Jakarta Post at the launch of the ministry’s campaign to encourage citizens to vote.
The campaign will include a massive concert by the World Peace Orchestra, a local fusion ensemble, in Jakarta this May.
The New Seven Wonders Foundation, responsible for managing the list, classifies numerous natural sites under seven categories, such as forests, volcanoes and islands.
Komodo National Park is listed under the national park category.
The park is competing against heavyweights such as Brazil’s Amazon, Australia’s Christmas Island and Canada’s Dinosaur Park.
Sapta said the park must reach the top 11 by July 7, and the top three by December in its category, before being selected to the top seven, meaning it has to become the number one in the national park category.
The worldwide voting process is carried out online through the foundation’s website, www.new7wonders.com.
“We will try to work with the Information and Communications Ministry to provide free Internet access in areas where the Internet is widely used, such as Java,” Sapta said. “This will allow Indonesians to vote more easily.”
The park is situated in East Nusa Tenggara and includes the islands of Komodo, Rinca and Padar.
The park’s main attractions are the original inhabitants of the islands, the famed Komodo dragons.
The ancient species, which evolved 4 million years ago, is the largest species of lizard and believed to be a remnant of the dinosaur age.
Komodo National Park is also renowned for its abundance of coral reefs, 70 percent of which are still in decent condition, Sapta said.
To get to the park, visitors must first go to Bali before heading to Labuhanbajo on the tip of Flores Island, and finally take a boat trip of more than an hour.
“Komodo National Park is not aimed at being a comfort destination. Rather, it is more of an adventure one,” Sapta said.
However, caution is advised, even for the most adventurous. Two years ago, a 9-year-old local boy was killed by a Komodo dragon. In 1975, a dragon also killed a Swiss tourist. The park is currently designated a conservation area.
Previously, the country’s Borobudur Temple enjoyed fame by being on the seven wonders of the world list. But in 2007, the foundation issued a new list, from which the temple was absent. (dis)
