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HP3203 Conservation Psychology

BUNAKEN NATIONAL PARK

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INTRODUCTION

About The Park

Bunaken National Park is a marine park located north of the Sulawesi island in Indonesia, established as a national park in 1991. It compromises the 5 islands of Bunaken, Manado Tua, Siladen, Montehage and Nain. It covers a total area of 890.65km2 and 97% of which is marine habitat, thus as you can imagine the vast and diverse marine ecosystem and coral reef it contains. Thus, it is part of an indo-Pacific region which supports the highest marine biodiversity on earth.

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MARINE LIFE

It is a habitat to 390 species of coral as well as many fish, reptile, mollusk and marine mammal species as it is near the center of the Coral Triangle. Bunaken is also a place where rare and endangered species can be found such as dugongs, whales, turtles and dolphins.
Apart from its habitat and marine biodiversity, it is also on a migratory route for protected animals and it is also of high economic value for fisheries and tourism.

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ISSUES ON THE REEFS

28% of the people living in the park were full time fishermen, as recorded in 1996. There were also thousands more part time fishermen. Thus as you can imagine, the amount of fishes that were caught became damaging to the ecosystem.
Apart from traditional fishing, the reef also encountered threats from gleaning (collecting reef-flat animals by prying and overturning corals on the reef at low tide), coral mining, and occasional illegal bomb and cyanide fishing. This shows that the reef is already functioning at their maximum and any increase may cause severe eco-system damage.

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How does this issue relate to conservation psychology?

The issue that the national park and the population around it faces is the issue of the tragedy of commons. This is based on the fact that each individual is self interested and gains by consuming natural resources, and as the common pool resource is large, the individual sees little harm from their own use. However, when the population and thus utilization of this resource reach high levels, no one cares or takes notice when the resources are depleted. Thus there is no reason for protection of the common pool resource in their opinions and the resources will reduce overtime. Through education and raising awareness, the risk to this beautiful environment will be reduced.

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EXISTING CONSERVATION EFFORTS

In 1994, the parks were divided into sections and the rules governing each sections are enforced.
Scientific research is done on the area to develop, evaluate and improve on the natural resource use policies in the park. They are done to evaluate the impacts in the park.
Activities of the government and non-government organizations are coordinated to enhance management of the park. Cooperation from other aspects of the society, such as media, police, educational institutions and research enterprises must be accomplished as well.
Heavy fines and potentially long jail sentences are place upon those who breach the rules governing the activities in Bunaken. E.g. fishing or tree cutting in parts of the nature conservation zones is punishable by a maximum jail term of 10 years or a fine of up to 2 million rupiahs.
In order to achieve a more coordinated effort with the population in the park the guidelines in the next page are provided.

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GUIDELINES FOR THE POPULATION AND DIVERS

Young off-springs of the marine species should be returned to the ocean so that they have a chance to reproduce to sustain the population

Illegal fishing methods such as bomb-fishing and cyanide fishing should never be used as these methods destroys reef eco-systems by killing numerous corals, fishes and other marine animals that are important for the ecosystem

Protected species such as giant clams, turtles and their eggs should never be taken from the water as their numbers are dangerously low

Nets and fish traps should be used carefully to avoid damage to the coral reefs

When diving, do not disturb or touch any of the marine life during the dive, to ensure that you are not disrupting or destroying anything that is of significance to the ecosystem

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Jane Goodall

"Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference."

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kaung Htet is a psychology student from Nanyang Technological University. Having a strong interest in environmental issues and how to invoke public action to create a better environment for the future, he decided to take up conservation psychology.
He always had an interest in visiting natural landscapes that are breathtaking. As travelling has always been a passion to him, preserving natural environments is important to him.

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REFERENCES

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