Climate Changes Effect on Komodo National Park (Part 1)
Ahmad Zamakhsyari Sidiq
Informatics Engineering, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia
Korean Language Program, Ajou University, South Korea
1. Komodo National Park
Komodo National Park was established in 1980 and was declared as a World Heritage Site and a Man and Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1991. The park was initially established to conserve the unique Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis), first discovered by the scientific in 1911 by J.K.H. Van Steyn. Since then conservation goals have expanded to protecting its entire biodiversity, both marine and terrestrial.
Komodo National Park (KNP) includes one of the world’s richest marine environments. The Park encompasses 1,214 square kilometers of highly diverse marine habitats, including coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass beds, seamounts, and semi-enclosed bays. These habitats harbor more than 1,000 species of fish, some 260 species of reef-building coral, and 70 species of sponges. Dugong (Dugong dugon), dolphins (10 species), whales (6 species), and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) and green (Chelonia mydas) turtles are all occurring within the Park[3].
Komodo National Park lies in the Wallacea Region of Indonesia, identified by WWF and Conservation International as a global conservation priority area. The Park is located between the islands of Sumbawa and Flores at the border of the Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT) and Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTB) provinces. It includes three major islands, Komodo, Rinca and Padar, and numerous smaller islands together totaling 603 km2 of land. The total size of Komodo National Park is presently 1,817 km2. Proposed extensions of 25 km2 of land (Banta Island) and 479 km2 of marine waters would bring the total surface area up to 2,321 km2.
2. Climate Changes in Indonesia
Climate change has been a major treat to the whole world, and Indonesia is not an exception. Some major changes are change mean of temperature, sea temperature, CO2 Concentration and changes of sea level.
2.1 Change Mean of Temperature
A study about climate changes in Indonesia by PT. Pelangi Energi Abadi Citra Enviro (PEACE) shows that annual mean temperature in Indonesia has been observed as increasing by around 0.3 degrees since 1990 and has occurred in all seasons of the year.
They also projected that in 2020, mean temperature will increase somewhere between 0.36 to 0.47 oC, with the highest temperatures potentially occurring in the islands of Kalimantan and the southeastern part of the Moluccas. They also said that Komodo National Park will have the annual increasing temperature at 0.42 – 0.43 degree a year.
2.2 Change of Sea Temperature
Climate change will subject Indonesia’s ocean water to an increase in temperature of 0.2 to 2.5 oC [1]. The 50,000 km2 of coral reefs in Indonesia, about 18% of the world’s total, are already in dire straits.
[To Be continued]
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