With an area of 6100 hectares and is located in the Indonesia Ocean, the island of Nature Reserve, Nusa Barong Island now starts to attract attention of tourists. Few people knew that the Nature Reserve in the Nusa Barong Island is a conservation area that should be kept well out from human intervention
In the virtual world, there is an amateur blogger who offers the nusa barong island nature reserve as a tourist destination. there are also travel agencies that tried to get permission from the natural resources conservation division III region jember to make the nusa barong island nature reserve as part of a tour package
" we could not accept not accept the offer ", said head of the natural resources conservation region III jember, east java, Sunandar Trigunajasa. BKSDA is more concern to the conservation than profit oriented that can be drawn from the island.
Mr. Sunandar explained the nusa barong island nature reserve has a specific and unique, both in term of flora and ecosystems. There are four ecosystems on the island; they are coastal ecosystem, brackish forest, swamp forest and lowland rain forest. As for the potential of the flora there are 16 plant species and 20 animal species.
In the Dutch East Indies reign time, Nusa barong island nature reserve was known as the habitat of deer ( Cervus Timorensis ) turtle ( Chelonidae ), as well as several types of sea birds. The hunters had often got into to shoot deer. Finally, in 1920, the Dutch government has issued the Gazette number 736 which sets the island as a nature reserve until now.
This island is also one of the outer island of Indonesia. if there is damage caused by human intervention, so it would interfere the state sovereign of Indonesia. The damage is easily arising in the area, because soils are delicate enough.
If anyone wants to reach Nusa Barong Island, he or she needs to cross a savage sea to reach the nusa barong island nature reserve from the mainland Jember, East Java. From the coastal of the Puger District the travelling is usually reached by a canoe or a gondola and it takes about 2.5 hours in a condition of little waves. These difficulties actually do not discourage people to visit the island. Mr. Sunandar said there are several types of island visitors.
First, the fisherman who are forced to land there because they keep away from storm. Second, fishing hunter who is also sometimes landed there with the same purpose as the fishermen had. Third, of course are thieves of the island's flora and fauna.
BKSDA had often faced the theft of turtle eggs, bird nets, and sentigi wood that was happened since 1980. In 2011, there were two cases of the turtle eggs thefts were disclosed in kota batu and the puger district, Jember. the number of the turtle eggs stolen was safekeeping about two thousand eggs. Two sellers had confessed for getting the stolen turtle eggs from the nusa barong island nature reserve.
the officers have problems to do the intensive monitoring because of areasand the high cost of transportation. On the island there was no fresh water, so its difficult to build a permanent post. Last time, there was a post in the nusa barong island nature reserve, but it was destroyed by the tsunami waves. So the officers just the camping system and twice a month get into the conservation area.
However, the camping models are not without weakness. The team of BKSDA could at any time get into the conservation area on schedule, especially in December and January, when the arrival peak of the turtles come to the beach and lays their eggs. At December to January the number of turtles that spawn there can reach 10-20 for every night. The huge waves bring difficult to the officers to enter the nusa barong island nature reserve. On the other hand, sometimes the thieves of the turtle eggs are reckless. They are dared to swim to the shore of the Nusa Barong Island Nature Reserve.
In spite of the strict protection of Nusa Barong island Nature Reserved from the human intervention, BKSDA does not close them completely. Mr. Sunandar said that there is still an opportunity for researchers who want to visit there. " perhaps it is called a discovering tour". he said. So it is not entirely commercial. A research is needed to find out more biological richness of the Nusa Barong Island Nature Reserve.
However, the camping models are not without weakness. The team of BKSDA could at any time get into the conservation area on schedule, especially in December and January, when the arrival peak of the turtles come to the beach and lays their eggs. At December to January the number of turtles that spawn there can reach 10-20 for every night. The huge waves bring difficult to the officers to enter the nusa barong island nature reserve. On the other hand, sometimes the thieves of the turtle eggs are reckless. They are dared to swim to the shore of the Nusa Barong Island Nature Reserve.
In spite of the strict protection of Nusa Barong island Nature Reserved from the human intervention, BKSDA does not close them completely. Mr. Sunandar said that there is still an opportunity for researchers who want to visit there. " perhaps it is called a discovering tour". he said. So it is not entirely commercial. A research is needed to find out more biological richness of the Nusa Barong Island Nature Reserve.
