Komodo National Park
| Komodo National Park | |
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| Taman Nasional Komodo | |
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IUCN category II (national park)
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Komodo dragon at Komodo National Park
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 Komodo NP
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| Location | Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia |
| Coordinates | 8°32′36″S 119°29′22″E / 8.54333°S 119.48944°ECoordinates: 8°32′36″S 119°29′22″E / 8.54333°S 119.48944°E |
| Area | 1,733 km2 (669 sq mi) |
| Established | 1980 |
| Visitors | 45,000 (in 2010) |
| Governing body | Ministry of Environment and Forestry |
| Website | www |
| Type | Natural |
| Criteria | vii, x |
| Designated | 1991 (15th session) |
| Reference no. | 609 |
| State Party | Indonesia |
| Region | Asia-Pacific |
Komodo National Park is a national park in Indonesia located within the Lesser Sunda Islands in the border region between the provinces of East Nusa Tenggara and West Nusa Tenggara. The park includes the three larger islands Komodo, Padar and Rinca, and 26 smaller ones, with a total area of 1,733 km2 (603 km2 of it land). The national park was founded in 1980 to protect the Komodo dragon, the world's largest lizard. Later it was dedicated to protecting other species, including marine species. In 1991 the national park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Komodo National Park has been selected as one of the New7Wonders of Nature. The waters surrounding Komodo island also contains rich marine biodiversity. Komodo islands is also a part of the Coral Triangle, which contains some of the richest marine biodiversity on Earth.
Komodo National Park was established in 1980 and was declared 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 world in 1912 by J.K.H. Van Steyn. Since then conservation goals have expanded to protecting its entire biodiversity, both marine and terrestrial.
The majority of the people in and around the park are fishermen originally from Bima (Sumbawa), Manggarai, South Flores, and South Sulawesi. Those from South Sulawesi are from the Suku Bajau or Bugis ethnic groups. The Suku Bajau were originally nomadic and moved from location to location in the region of Sulawesi, Nusa Tenggara and Maluku, to make their livelihoods. Descendants of the original people of Komodo, the Ata Modo, still live in Komodo, but there are no pure blood people left and their culture and language is slowly being integrated with the recent migrants.
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