Komodo
Komodo
The two-page coverage on the island of Komodo carried in your
Sunday, Dec. 1 edition provided a colorful glimpse into the
background and operation of one of the world's most cherished
natural heritage areas. Unfortunately, many writers who visit the
park cannot resist the tendency to depict the park and its
natural inhabitants in terms more fanciful than factual. The
author of the story on the Komodo dragon fell prey not to the
dragon, but to this same tendency to overdramatize facts
surrounding the world's largest Monitor lizards. The Komodo
dragon is not "the largest predator" or "the ultimate carnivore",
as stated in the article.
One can only hope that the photograph of the proud tourists
with their substantial catch of tuna, which was included in the
other article, was not taken on board the ship that carried The
Nature Conservancy group during their visit to Komodo. A check by
telephone with the park's office in Labuan Bajo confirmed that
the rules have not changed, and fishing inside the park is still
strictly prohibited.
The special box detailing "ways to get to Komodo National
Park" failed to mention Spice Island Cruises' 140-passenger ship,
the Bali Sea Dancer, which has been operating twice-weekly trips
to the park since November 1994. By our calculation, 30 percent
of the people who visit the park do so as passengers on our ship,
with hopefully more comfort and punctuality than the other means
of transportation mentioned. In fact, getting to Komodo is easier
than ever before, with your Jakarta-based readers now able to
leave home on a Friday, see Komodo and Sumbawa and be back in
Jakarta the following Monday.
Lest I sound too critical, let me congratulate The Jakarta
Post for its decision to dedicate so much of Sunday's edition to
the Komodo National Park. I hope that your paper and its writer
will return soon to the park and carry your investigations
further, looking at both the positive and negative impacts of
tourism, the carrying capacity of the park, and things operators
and visitors to the park can do to preserve its unrivaled natural
beauty.
JOHN M. DANIELS
General Manager
Spice Island Cruises
Denpasar, Bali