Educational Capacity Building in Komodo National Park
Dr. Jessop with members of the Komodo National Park staff and research students at Park headquarters in Loh Liang on the island of Komodo.
Over the past three years, the Komodo dragon project has initiated a number of programs to promote educational opportunities for Indonesian nationals working in the field. For eight months a high school teacher from the United States ran English courses for 65 staff of the Komodo National Park. Dr. Tim Jessop, Conservation Research Fellow, has also organized several programs to support undergraduate students and master's students who wish to undertake projects in the Park, and in some cases in other national parks within Indonesia.
Eight undergraduates have been sponsored to undertake one- to two-month field research programs; they represent three Indonesian universities. Their projects have included work on the choice of nesting sites by female Komodo dragons and identification of the parasites of Komodo dragons on the island of Rinca. The Zoological Society of San Diego has also funded three master's fellowships for work in the nationl Park.
