WWF Indonesia said waste in the Komodo National Park from residential sites reached an average of 12 cubic meters, or to 0.7 tons, per day.
By
ICHWAN SUSANTO, ANTONIUS PONCO ANGGORO, INGKI RINALDI
·3 minutes read
Kompas/Heru Sri Kumoro
Visitors enjoy the Aug. 29 sunset in Gili Lawa Darat, West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara. Visitors must climb a hill to reach the best viewing point to watch the setting sun.
Tourists are flocking to Komodo Island National Park to see the reptile that has survived for millions of years. But what will happen when tourism leads to waste being scattered in the waters and corners of the island?
During sunset in Gili Lawa Darat on Monday, plastic packaging piled up on the beach, with plastic bottles scattered across its edge. The next morning on the other side of the island, on a path that tourists follow to enjoy the sunrise and sunset, piles of plastic waste was seen strewn across the bushes.
In Rinca, the most populated island (estimated in 2014 at 2,875) at the Komodo National Park, waste in the form of laundry and bath soap packaging piled up around a spring. In an unused well, there were piles of garbage comprising packaging and oil jerry cans.
At the spring, housewives and children bathe and wash clothes every morning and evening. The spring consists of a clean water well of 3 meters in depth. Around it, there are rows of buckets full of clothes.
Using rope and a bucket made from an oil jerry can, they fetch water in turns, without taking care of where they deposit plastic waste. "There is nowhere to put the trash," said one of the housewives when was asked about the garbage.
Plastic waste can also be found at a security fence between residential sites and forests where the komodo dragons live. A similar scene can be found at a mangrove swamp. "We need to socialize the residents to adopt responsible practices amid the limited availability of landfill sights," saidLouis, an officer at the Komodo National Park in Rinca.
Managing waste
WWF Indonesia said waste in the Komodo National Park from residential sites reached an average of 12 cubic meters, or to 0.7 tons, per day. This is in addition to waste generated by tourists, reaching 0.2 cubic meters or 0.01 tons per day.
Professor Akbar Tahir, a marine expert from Hasanuddin University, Makassar, said 20 percent of plastic waste deposited on the land ended up in rivers or the sea. In the sea, the garbage follows the current and fragments when exposed to high temperatures.
Waste in the national park area was not collected for two weeks after being deposited at a collection center.
Chairman of Komodo National Park Agency Sudiyono admitted the waste had become a problem in the conservation area he manages. Efforts to collect waste from the streams around the tourist sites have not been followed up by complementary prevention efforts.
This was also the experience of Egitadius Ardus, a tourist guide in Labuan Bajo. Waste in the national park area was not collected for two weeks after being deposited at a collection center.
The West Manggarai regency, in cooperation with the Komodo National Park Agency and WWF Indonesia, had agreed on a document regarding waste management in Labuan Bajo City and Komodo National Park. The agreement integrated land and sea waste management. The document recommended that waste management should follow the 3R (reduce, reuse and recycle) system. The recommendation defined the roles of the regulatory body, waste management operators and waste separation and distribution. However, the contents of the document have yet to be put into action.
The persistence of issues surrounding waste management could butcher tourism in Labuan Bajo and Komodo. This could damage the area that has become a major tourism destination, crowned as one of the seven natural wonders of the world, a World Heritage Site and a Biosphere Reserve.
