Managing UNESCO-designated sites during the pandemic – reports from the field: Komodo National Park, Indonesia

Around the world, UNESCO-designated sites – World Heritage sites, Biosphere Reserves and UNESCO Global Geoparks – protect and manage the world’s most special places. The COVID-19 pandemic affects people, wildlife and their environment in different ways.

Komodo National Park – a Biosphere Reserve and a natural World Heritage site – is located in East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia. Komodo National Park is composed of three major islands (Rinca, Komodo, and Padar) and numerous smaller ones. These volcanic islands are inhabited by a population of giant lizards, whose appearance and aggressive behaviour have led them being called the ‘Komodo dragons’. They exist nowhere else in the world and are of great interest to scientists studying the theory of evolution. The rugged hillsides of dry savannah and pockets of thorny green vegetation contrast starkly with the brilliant white sandy beaches and the blue waters surging over coral. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the park and other site destination surrounding the park have been closed since March 2020. Nevertheless, park rangers are still continuing the safeguarding of the park.

A video message from Head of Komodo National Park is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXmR-Izt6Gw&feature=youtu.be
The video message is part of a series in which World Heritage site managers report on how they are coping with the Covid-19 crisis. Videos from other World Heritage sites around the world are available here: https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/2101