TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Tourism Minister Sandiaga Uno announced that the revised environment impact assessment ("Amdal") document of the Integrated Tourism Master Plan (ITMP) of the Komodo National Park has been completed.

"The environment impact assessment has been completed but it is still being double-checked and finalized by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK), so it has not been submitted to UNESCO," said Sandiaga in a written statement on Monday, November 8, 2021.

According to Sandiaga, the revised document is prepared by the KLHK Ministry in tandem with selected parties including the Bogor Agricultural Institute (IPB), the Wildlife Consortium Society, and the Ministry of Public Works and Housing.

The plan to report this document to UNESCO would be delayed from the initial plan, which was no later than September 2021.

UNESCO asked the Indonesian government to temporarily postpone the ITMP project, pending the approval of the revised Amdal from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as it is suspected to adversely affect the habitat of the Komodo dragon.

On August 9, 2021, Sandiaga Uno said that UNESCO had pegged a deadline for the submission of the revised Amdal and other pertinent documents on February 1, 2022, to the World Heritage Centre.

Among the evaluation points from UNESCO was that it asked the Indonesian government for detailed information on the ITMP of the Komodo National Park so as to avert negative impacts on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the park as a world natural heritage.

FAJAR PEBRIANTO