Komodo National Park is situated within the heart of the archipelago of Indonesia, between the Flores and Sumbawa islands. The park was established in the year 1980 with the initial purpose of the Komodo National Park mainly being the conservation of the Komodo dragon and its habitat. Throughout the year, however, the purpose of the national park has grown to include the protection of the entire area’s biodiversity, both marine and terrestrial. In the year 1986, the park was designated as both a Man and Biosphere Reserve and a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Both of these designations indicate the biological significance of Komodo National Park.

Three major islands in the Indonesian archipelago make up a large portion of the Komodo National Park: Pada, Rinca, and Komodo. The park also consists of many other smaller islands in the archipelago to create a total surface area, consisting of both land and water, of 1, 817 square kilometers. Proposed extensions to the park would bring its total area up to 2, 321 square kilometers.

In addition to being the home of the unique Komodo dragon, Komodo National Park offers a safe haven for several other terrestrial species of note, including the Timor deer and the orange-footed scrub fowl. The park also includes one of the world’s richest marine habitats, including semi-enclosed bays, seamounts, seagrass beds, mangroves, and coral reefs. These marine environments are home to over one thousand different fish species, approximately 260 reef-building coral species, and seventy species of sponges. Sea turtles, dolphins, at least fourteen different whale species, manta rays, sharks, and dugong also live within the Komodo National Park.

A large amount of the people who reside within the Komodo National Park and the surrounding area are fishermen who are originally from South Sulawesi, South Flores, Manggarai, and Bima, on Sumbawa. Residents from South Sulawesi are from the Bugis and Suku Bajau ethnic groups. The Suku Bajau people led a nomadic lifestyle originally, moving from one location to another throughout the region of Sulawesi, Maluku, and Nusa Tenggara to make their living. The Ata Modo, descendents from Komodo’s original inhabitants, still inhabit Komodo as well. However, none of these people are pure blood Ata Modo, and their language and culture is slowly becoming integrated with that of the more recent migrants to the area.

Not much is known about the early history of the native Komodo islanders. These people were subjects of the Sultanate of Bima. It’s believed, however, that due to the remoteness of the island of Komodo from Bima, the affairs of Komodo were most likely not troubled by Bima’s Sultanate other than probably occasionally a demand for tribute.

In 1980, the Komodo National Park was created. In 1986, the park was designed by UNESCO as a Man and Biosphere Reserve and a World Heritage Site. The park was originally established to help with the conservation of the fascinating Komodo dragon, which was discovered for the first time by the scientific world by J.K.H. Van Steyn in 1911. Since the park’s creation, the goals of conservation have grown to include the protection of the area’s entire biodiversity, terrestrial and marine.

East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

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