Destinations known | Ten new Balis? That’s the last thing Indonesia needs

Plans to recreate the holiday idyll in other parts of the country ignores the devastation caused by an over-dependence on tourism

In Komodo National Park, construction of a Jurassic Park-style theme park worries conservationists

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Dragon versus wagon: a photo of a Komodo dragon that went viral on social media. Photo: Twitter / @KawanBaikKomodo

Mercedes Hutton

Published: 8:45am, 4 Nov 2020Updated: 9:38am, 4 Nov 2020

An image of a Komodo dragon facing down a construction truck – the environmental equivalent of Tank Man – in Indonesia’s Komodo National Park has gone viral. It was shared on social media on October 23 by Save Komodo Now, a collective of activist organisations that, according to its Twitter bio, is committed to protecting and preserving Komodo National Park.

What the park and its inhabitants – reptile and human – need protection from is the government’s plan to transform Labuan Bajo, a fishing town on the island of Flores that serves as the entry point for tourists wanting to witness the world’s largest living lizards, and the surrounding area into one of 10 “new Balis”.

The plan involves pouring a not inconsiderable amount of concrete on Rinca, one of only five islands where the dragons live, to create a Jurassic Park-inspired theme park. (Incidentally, anyone who has visited will know that the scenery itself does a pretty convincing Jurassic Park impression – no concrete necessary.)

A video – also shared by Save Komodo Now but purportedly from the architects tasked with conceiving said attraction – that shows renderings of how the circular structure will appear is set to music that sounds remarkably like the theme to the original, 1993 Jurassic Park film. In September, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that the Rinca Island development, scheduled for completion in June 2021, would cost 69 billion rupiah (US$4.7 million) and feature a 1.3 hectare geopark and a 4,000 square metre information centre.

After much ado last year about potentially closing the park or charging US$1,000 per visit– both advertised as conservation efforts – construction work on Rinca began quietly, at least in terms of press coverage. We imagine the comings and goings of trucks, excavators and at least one helicopter would have made for a rather noisy (read: stressful) existence for residents.

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.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}Destinations known | Ten new Balis? That’s the last thing Indonesia needs

Destinations known | Ten new Balis? That’s the last thing Indonesia needs