Protecting the Mbau Komodo in Riung, Flores: Local Adat, National Conservation and Ecotourism Developments

Abstract

The Komodo dragon is one of the most exotic animals of the Wallacea region. Conservation efforts aimed at protecting the Komodo dragon and the unique biodiversity in the region have created a particularly strained relationship between state interests, local livelihood and tourism developments. This article examines recent antagonisms between national agencies, local interests and livelihoods by describing a unique and relatively unknown case study: the Riung Subdistrict and Sambinasi Village and the protection of the Komodo dragons by the local Baar community. Based on information from 19 qualitative in-depth interviews, and the analysis of a recent local Adat meeting in March 2019, this article shows that the Baar were successful in reclaiming land from the national conservation agencies. Meanwhile, they simultaneously formulated new local customary rules on how to treat the Komodo dragon, hence reclaiming ownership over conservation rules and empowering local institutions. Recently, all parties have subscribed to a new ecotourism agenda for further development of the area. This agenda might reshape relations between national agencies and the local communities, as conservation is increasingly linked to new forces of global tourism.

Ecotourism in Indonesia: Local Community Involvement and The Affecting Factors

“…The involvement included several activities such as planning the development of local areas into ecotourism destinations (Hijriati & Mardiana, 2014), discussing customary or local regulations regarding to conservation efforts for ecotourism areas (Asriyani & Verheijen, 2020), discussing the conservation methods or strategies (Asriyani & Verheijen, 2020;Ayuningtyas & Dharmawan, 2011;Harahab & Setiawan, 2017;Hijriati & Mardiana, 2014;Ibrahim et al, 2019;Muaz et al, 2017;Ridlwan et al, 2017), discussing the current ecotourism problems (Ayuningtyas & Dharmawan, 2011;Hijriati & Mardiana, 2014;Ibrahim et al, 2019;Ridlwan et al, 2017), finding out people's responses or perceptions regarding to the perceived benefits of ecotourism (Hijriati & Mardiana, 2014;Ibrahim et al, 2019;Ridlwan et al, 2017), establishing visiting rules or policies for tourists (Harahab & Setiawan, 2017;Hijriati & Mardiana, 2014;Ibrahim et al, 2019;Muaz et al, 2017), and determining who would be involved in the development of ecotourism (Ayuningtyas & Dharmawan, 2011;Nuraini et al, 2019). The form of local community involvement at the planning level was only discussed in nine out of the 29 articles.…”

“…From the cultural perspective, limitations to local community involvement were in the form of apathy and low awareness about the potential of ecotourism in their area. The management of tourism and conservation, dominated by the central government or the local elite, without paying attention to local people's concerns, has made them apathetic to the ecotourism area development program (Asriyani & Verheijen, 2020;Ridlwan et al, 2017;Tiga et al, 2019b). The form of protest took the form of rejection of the rules or policies, especially those related to conservation regulations.…”

Community and conservation in Wallacea: Making the case for the region, a methodological framework, and research trends

“…In this way we propose an approach to studying livelihoods around the following categories: 1) Production and consumption. Asriyani and Verheijen (2020) describe community deer hunting traditions that change relative to the populations of deer, a traditional practice that has declined in the past generation. Figure 2 lists the eight cases included in the special section.…”

“…We assigned a geographic code to each region and provide the corresponding title and contributing author, which is then mapped to the Wallacea region to highlight the location and scale with which the research took place. Asriyani and Verheijen (2020) analyze the conservation efforts of the small Baar community in co-existing with the Komodo dragons of Riung Subdistrict in Flores. They describe the current dynamics between local adat, state conservation of the Komodo dragon, and the rapid emergence of ecotourism.…”

“…The question of conservation has also shifted to alternative economic development opportunities for supporting conservation. The charismatic Komodo (Asriyani and Verheijen, 2020) and the vast proliferation of eco-tourism across Wallacea points to a new emerging trend to showcase the diverse culture of the region alongside exotic natural land and seascapes in their habitat. This has indeed led to significant investment in new economic opportunities that are more concerned with conservation.…”