Private sector should manage national parks
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)