Linking Conservation of Biodiversity and Community Livelihood in Komodo National Park, Indonesia - Island Futures: Conservation and Development Across the Asia-Pacific Region - page 101

gleaning, and other fishing methods. Non-inhabitant fishermen also use pelagic lift
nets and a variety of other methods such as compressor fishing, hook and line
fishing, and gillnetting in park waters.
These traditional communities in and around the Park have been increasingly
subjected to external influences. Mobility, mass communications and immigration
have brought considerable social and economic change. The majority of fishers in
and surrounding the Park are Moslems, with a strong informal institution of Koran
recitation. Hajis, or annual pilgrimages to Mecca, have a strong influence on
community dynamics. Most communities can speak Bahasa Indonesian, but mainly
use the Bajo and Manggarai languages for daily communication (Singleton and
Sulaiman 2002 ).
Pressure and Threats to KNP
Though the most commonly used fishing technique in the KNP is the lift-net,
several destructive fishing practices, including the use of dynamite, cyanide, and
compressors (which are mostly used by non-Park inhabitants), as well as reef
gleaning and plain over-fishing, severely threaten the Park's marine resources.
Terrestrial ecosystems are also under increasing pressure from a human population
that has increased 800% in the last 60 years. The collection of firewood degrades
the mangroves and surrounding forests, and diminishes or eliminates breeding
grounds, shelter, and food sources for marine and terrestrial species, reduces wind-
breaks, and increases erosion/siltation. Water resources are limited, and increased
extraction and diversion of water reduces that available for dependent fauna,
changes the water table, and will affect plant distribution patterns (Pet 1999 ). In addi-
tion, the population of Timor deer, preferred prey of the endangered Komodo
dragon, is still often Poaching. Pollution, from raw sewage to chemicals, is increasing
and may pose a major threat in the future. In total, human resource demands are lead-
ing to a systematic degradation of both the terrestrial and marine resource base.
The understanding of the natural ecosystems found in the KNP, and of the
process of their change, has improved considerably in the last few decades. But
human conditions in the park have changed dramatically too. A cash economy has
developed and the standard of living in the area has increased significantly since
the Park was declared in 1980. This observation is based on the increasing number
of local inhabitants who have been able to afford the considerable expense
involved in making the pilgrimage to Mecca, as well as the growing number of
locally-owned boats, owner occupied buildings, and television sets in the area. The
use of destructive fishing practices, such as bombs and poisons, has become more
common with the increasing need for cash, and has had a negative impact on
the Park's quality as a source of replenishment for the species that pass through its
borders to the surrounding ecosystems. Law enforcement is not the simple solution
to such problems.