Private sector should manage national parks

JAKARTA (JP): An official has suggested that the private sector take over the management of Indonesia's national parks so that they can be exploited in a more profitable way.

Surna T. Djajadiningrat, assistant to the State Minister for Environment, said in Cisarua, West Java, yesterday that the existing 31 national parks are great economic assets that could be developed better under private management. Good management would also ensure that the national parks could function as both conservation and tourism areas, as they are supposed to, he said.

Speaking to the press after opening the sixth Meeting of the ASEAN Working Group on Nature Conservation, Surna said this dual function was the Ministry of Forestry's policy.

"Success, however, is still limited," Surna said, adding that the limited budget for the management of national parks was one of the reasons why the private sector should be involved.

"If the private sector manages the parks, then we can expect better maintenance, order, and professionalism," he said.

He added that local residents should also be included in the management.

"The government can retain the authority over ticket prices," he suggested.

He said that developing tourism in an environmentally-friendly way would be one possible answer to the dilemma Indonesia faces: preserving its natural resources while exploiting them as sources of income.

He named Kenya, Tibet, Mexico and a clutch of Caribbean countries as among those who have successfully developed ecotourism.

Also yesterday, Director General of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation at the Ministry of Forestry, Soemarsono, suggested that the Wallacean region could be established as an ASEAN Heritage.

This region covers islands in Sulawesi, Nusa Tenggara and Maluku provinces, and constitutes an area of transition from Asia to Australasia which is home to the flora and fauna of both continents. The area also boasts some of the most beautiful coral reefs in the world, experts said.

The ASEAN Heritages already established here are Leuser National Park in Aceh, Kerinci Seblat National Park -- covering parts of Bengkulu, Jambi, South and West Sumatra -- and Lorentz Nature Reserve in Irian Jaya.

The two-day meeting was attended by chairman of the ASEAN Working Group of Nature Wilfrido S. Pollisco. Participants came from the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand. Observers from the World Bank, World Wide Fund, and Australia Nature Conservation Agency were also present. (swe)