Wae Wuul Nature Reserve Rehabilitation Project

Mission: The Wae Wuul protection plan was developed to protect the remnant Komodo dragon population in Wae Wuul and avoid expansion of habitat encroachment. The project has four main components: community awareness, patrolling and law enforcement, involvement of the local community in protection and conservation and capacity building.

Species: Komodo dragon

Location: Flores, Indonesia

Support started: 2005

Donating: €1,000 towards the main components of the project.

Background: The Wae Wuul nature reserve is situated on the west coast of the island of Flores in Indonesia. In recent years, Komodo dragons on this island have been poorly protected. Feral and domestic dogs are often used to illegally hunt deer, the main prey source of Komodo dragons. In addition, poachers frequently light bushfires, to promote grass growth and fresh grazing grounds for deer, which are then easily located by the hunters and their dogs.

Komodo dragons are restricted to 5 southern Indonesian islands and they have the smallest range of any large predator in the world. On the island of Flores, where this project is based, there is estimated to only be 160 individuals left. In 2004, it was estimated that in Wae Wuul alone there was 1 komodo per 60ha, however no reports have been done since then to find out current density sizes. The project is working hard to protect its current unknown population of Komodo dragons.

Achievements: In 2007, the non-governmental organization Komodo Survival Program (KSP) was established to secure a long-term collaboration with the Flores branch of the Indonesian Department of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation (BBKSDA) and the Komodo National Park (KNP) authority. Poaching has gradually been reduced in the reserve and between 2010 and 2012 no records of organized hunting were reported. In 2007, the NGO Komodo Survival Program (KSP)was established and a 5-year Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) was signed with Indonesian Central Bureau for the Conservation of Nature Resources (Balai Besar Konservasi Sumber Daya Alam -BBKSDA). The establishment of such an agreement was an important achievement for KSP to act as consultant and co-supervisor of BBKSDA in wildlife and habitat protection in western Flores, and particularly for Komodo dragon management and conservation in the Wae Wuul nature reserve. Between 2010 and 2011, a first draft of a new MoA was submitted and signed, the MoA is for 2011-2015 conservation work on Flores.

Patrolling activities represent an important component of the Komodo dragon conservation programme in the Wae Wuul nature reserve. The patrolling programme is conducted by members of BBKSD and selected members of the local community. Patrolling is conducted across the reserve to monitor and control arson in the savannah and grassland, control the occurrence of feral dogs, wood harvesting and halt illegal hunting of deer. Patrolling was conducted in Wae Wuul every other day from June to August. A few instances were reported where local people felled forest trees in an attempt to make a cultivated field near the eastern boundary of the reserve. Fires were also spotted in the central part of the Wae Wuul grassland habitat, but were later extinguished. The project during its patrolling activities also tested a new monitoring technique, using cameras and bait to attract wildlife. The hope is this could be used as an alternative to live caging for Komodo dragon population density estimates.

Future objectives: It is hoped that once the Wae Wuul Protection Plan becomes established as a regular, annual initiative then illegal activities within the park boundaries will stop completely and Komodo dragon numbers will increase.

Komodo Dragon Picture © Richard Gibson, ZSL