J

une 28, p. 28

“I do hope the people living in [the Thousand Islands] National Park will take responsibility and value the sea as a major life-sustaining reserve before the island group is submerged,” park head Sri Andajani said a few days ago.

Kepulauan Seribu National Park (TNKpS) is a group of 78 islands in Jakarta’s northern waters. In 1982, the islands were declared a marine reserve. In 2002, that was changed by a decree of the forestry minister, and the islands were established as a national park covering an area of 107,489 hectares.

Two of the 78 islands, East and West Panjaliran, have become the government’s core area where sea turtles are conserved and public access is denied. Six other islands are inhabited by local communities, while the rest belong to private individuals and companies.

Your comments:

I’m so impressed. She can show us what a commitment is. It is the fundamental strength of conservation efforts.

Bravo Sri! However, there are some ridiculous facts/situations that make it seem so hard for her efforts to be realized.

I believe conservation efforts could be easier if local/regional and central governments really cared about and were committed to the conservation areas in their administrative jurisdictions. Unfortunately, it seems that they are not. I’ve highlighted and quoted the following from this article:

“The TNKpS is the only national park in Indonesia located adjacent to the hub of the capital city of Jakarta, so it is actually easier for the central government to control.”

“The Thousand Islands [regency] administration is not yet fully aware of the urgent need for conservation.”

These two points show that the authorities aren’t fully aware of the sustainability and conservation value of this national park (conservation area), even though it is right in front of their eyes.

Anton Eko Satrio
Manado