Kelimutu National Park Conservation Partnership Strengthens Livelihoods of Saga Indigenous Community

Image: article cover, from Avila Delvion et al. (2025), Jurnal Wasian, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

A research team from Universitas Gadjah Mada has assessed that the conservation partnership in Kelimutu National Park, East Nusa Tenggara, has a tangible impact on the livelihoods of the Saga indigenous community living around the area. The study by Bertila Avila Delvion, Dwiko Budi Permadi, and Hero Marhaento, published in Jurnal Wasian, highlights how the partnership strengthens various livelihood capitals of the community, from natural and human to social and financial.

According to the research, the national park has designated a traditional zone for coffee agroforestry, giving the community access to manage land while restoring degraded ecosystems. Residents also receive training as nature guides (eco-interpreters), while the Saga indigenous group's institutions are strengthened. The partnership also opens up access and infrastructure that support the village economy and tourism, although the financial benefits are only felt indirectly. The partnership scheme is seen as a way out of tenure conflicts or land disputes.

For forest-dependent communities, these findings show that conservation does not have to exclude people from their livelihoods. However, the research team notes that further efforts are still needed to make this conservation partnership programme more effective and successful.

Source and how to cite

This story is based on the research article Fostering Sustainabel Livelihood of the Saga Indigenous Community through Conservation Partnership in Kelimutu National Park, Nusa Tenggara Timur by Bertila Avila Delvion, Dwiko Budi Permadi and Hero Marhaento, published in Jurnal Wasian Vol. 10 No. 02 (2025). The full article is free to read on the Jurnal Wasian website.

Cite the original article (APA 7):

Avila Delvion, B., Permadi, D. B., & Marhaento, H. (2025). Fostering Sustainabel Livelihood of the Saga Indigenous Community through Conservation Partnership in Kelimutu National Park, Nusa Tenggara Timur. Jurnal Wasian, 10(02), 18–24. https://doi.org/10.62142/esswj444

If you use these findings in coursework, a thesis or other writing, cite the original article above, not this news story. The original article is licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.