Indonesia says ‘Jurassic Park’ project on track despite | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

Indonesia says ‘Jurassic Park’ project on track despite | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

Construction on an Indonesian tourism project dubbed "Jurassic Park" on social media will continue, the Southeast Asian country's environment ministry said on Thursday, despite UNESCO warnings the plans could have a negative environmental impact. Work on a series of tourism projects in Indonesia's Komodo National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, began last year, sparking concerns about threats to the local economy and the fragile habitat of the park's namesake, the Komodo dragon, Reuters reports. Last month, officials from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) told a World Heritage Committee conference that the project required a new environmental impact assessment over illegal fishing concerns and the potential risk to the Komodo dragon's natural habitat. "This project will proceed... it's been proven to have no impact," Wiratno, a senior official at Indonesia's environment ministry, told Reuters. UNESCO officials told last month's meeting that they had requested an updated assessment from the Indonesian government but received no response. Wiratno said a new assessment was being drafted and could be sent in September. It was not clear exactly what the project, centred on the island of Rinca, entails. Last year, the government said it was building a "premium tourism spot"