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UNESCO's call for project moratorium throws spotlight on Komodo National Park
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A Komodo dragon appears to face off against a pair of construction workers in a photo that caused concern after going viral in 2020.
(instagram /instagram@gregoriusafioma )
T
he ongoing infrastructure development in Komodo National Park, East Nusa Tenggara, have come into the spotlight after the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) urged the government to halt the project.
During its virtual meeting last month, UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee, which has the authority to determine World Heritage status for sites, outlined its concerns over the planned development of the national park, which the committee warned could threaten the park’s outstanding universal value (OUV).
The OUV is one of the main criteria used by the committee to determine whether a site should be accorded UNESCO World Heritage status. The Komodo National Park has been included in UNESCO's World Heritage list since 1991.
In one of the reports produced after the meeting, the committee urged the government to halt all tourism infrastructure projects in and around the national park, particularly those that have the potential to affect the park’s OUV, until the government has submitted a revised environmental impact assessment (EIA) to be reviewed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
“It is of concern that the EIA for the tourism infrastructure projects on Rinca Island did not adequately assess potential impacts on the property’s OUV,” the report reads.
Rinca Island is one of three major islands within Komodo National Park, along with Komodo Island and Padar Island.
In the report, the committee also asked the government to submit detailed information in its plan to ensure that the Komodo National Park’s OUV will be safeguarded along with the revised EIA.
