To choose nature or profit?

Dragon land: The Komodo National Park was established in 1980 to help protect the famed Komodo dragons (below). — AP

On a dirt path, a member of the world’s largest lizard species lazes on an island in eastern Indonesia’s Komodo National Park as tourists snap photos. And about 30km away on another park island that harbours Komodo dragons, trees have been removed and concrete poured for new tourist facilities that have aroused the ire of residents and activists.

The construction is part of an ambitious Indonesian effort that has stirred tensions between a government that wants to develop natural attractions for luxury tourism and conservationists who fear the habitat for the endangered Komodo dragon will be irreparably harmed.