The Pink Beach Poem

On my last visit to Komodo National Park in 2020, I was shocked to see the scale of development taking place there. There are plans to put a new Jurassic World inspired theme park on Rinca Island — home to the famous Komodo dragons. These slow moving reptiles behaviour embody my ideal style of development — thoughtful, calculated, methodical — basically the opposite to what’s happening to their homes.

The dragons live on the arid islands that are fringed with coral reefs. Komodo National Park is a jewel of marine biodiversity. A rainbow of coral and tropical fish reside under the surface. Thanks to the abundant corals, some of the islands are blessed with pink beaches. Boats pile up offshore to let their passengers hop off and get a few pictures on the pink sand. Let’s see how long they can last without another developer trying to cash in on these spots.

Huge projects are underway in Komodo National Park. It’s scary to think about what the impact will be in a few years time.