Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Management System
Park management is based on a single zoning system that includes both terrestrial
and marine areas. Seven types of zones are identified, including Core Zones,
Wilderness Zone with Limited Tourism, Tourism Use Zone, Traditional Use Zone,
Pelagic Use Zone, Special Research and Training Zone, and Traditional Settlement
Zone. In two of these - the Settlement Zone and the Traditional Use Zone - the
communities living inside the Park have exclusive rights to pursue their daily
activities, including traditional extractive activities, as long as these are done in a
sustainable manner (Law No. 5 of 1990 concerning Conservation Natural Resources
and their Ecosystem).
The Komodo National Park Authority has its focused conservation management
practices on the protection of the Komodo dragon and its habitat (Auffenberg
1981
). In 2005, the Park began a formal collaboration with PT Putri Naga Komodo,
a private company, to set up a tourism concession whose profits are channeled back
to fund park management and operational costs. This sustainable financing scheme
is implemented through the Komodo Collaborative Management Initiative (KCMI),
which is intended to address the dynamic challenges and opportunities facing KNP.
The KCMI involves a comprehensive program of investment, policy reform,
management intervention, community development projects and institutional
strengthening. KCMI enhances stakeholder involvement in the management of
KNP, and involves all important stakeholder groups, including the Park authority,
local government, the private-public joint venture with PT Putri Naga Komodo,
and local communities (Mous et al.
2004
; The Nature Conservancy
2000
).
Towards Harmonization with the Local Community
Within the KCMI, the Forum for Community Communication (FCC) has greated
facilitated and institutionalized community involvement. The FCC was established
to address complaints, concerns, and to solicit input from the community about any
issues that may arise from the Park's management. In some protected areas around
the world, state-run protected areas suffer from ineffective management, inadequate
allocation of resources, lack of local support, and incursion from local communities
(Lockwood et al.
2006
). The KNP management strategy, however, includes inte-
grated socio-economic development programs as a means to enlist local communi-
ties in the overall goal of nature conservation. Development programs create
alternative (and non-destructive) sources of income for the local people and seek
private sector-oriented and self-regulating measures for park protection. Such mea-
sures are more durable, effective and sustainable; nor do they depend on fear, sanc-
tions or policing for their implementation.
The Park's Incentives for Sustainable Livelihoods (ISL) program, for example,
was formed to help local people derive economic benefits from the conservation of
natural resources, to stop destructive practices such as cyanide and blast fishing,
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