Fires at Indonesia’s Komodo dragon reserve spark fears over ‘Jurassic Park’ tourism revamp

Conservationists worry renovations to create a ‘super-priority’ tourism destination at Komodo National Park will harm its namesake endangered giant lizards

Authorities have sought to play down ‘Jurassic Park’ labels as a misconception – but Unesco is concerned enough that it’s called for work on the project to stop

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A Komodo dragon basks in the sun at Indonesia’s Komodo National Park. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 5:58pm, 12 Nov 2021Updated: 9:22pm, 13 Nov 2021

A series of fires at Indonesia’s Komodo National Park have prompted safety concerns for the endangered giant lizards that live there, while also highlighting the pitfalls and confusion surrounding the government’s plan to re-brand the park as a “super-priority” tourist destination.

The latest blaze on November 2 took a team of 32 park rangers and 11 residents of Rinca Island – one of three main islands that make up the park in East Nusa Tenggara Province – to put out. The source of the fire is still under investigation, according to park authorities.

On August 8, a fire on the west side of Komodo Island raged for 12 hours before it was extinguished, with another large fire recorded on the island of Gili Lawa in 2018.

A map showing Komodo National Park. Image: SCMP

“Fires like this happen almost every year and the Komodo National Park Authority never gives a full explanation about the cause,” said Venan Haryanto, a researcher at Sunspirit, a civil society organisation that works for social justice and sustainable development in Indonesia.

“They just say something like ‘lightning’ or ‘hot weather’ when asked what happened. For us at Sunspirit, this lack of clarity only amplifies our concerns about the extent to which the government is taking conservation at the park seriously.”