"By obtaining the HPL certificate, we are committed to developing the Parapuar area to encourage economic improvement in the community through opening up job opportunities," Director of BPOLBF Shana Fatina stated on Saturday.
BPOLBF has officially received the HPL certificate for 129,609 hectares of the Parapuar area that was handed over directly by Deputy Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning Raja Juli Antoni in Parapuar, Labuan Bajo, on September 15.
According to Fatina, the issuance of the Parapuar Zone 1 HPL certificate was a strategic step to improve tourism innovation in Labuan Bajo with a cultural center, research center, micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) area, museum, and gallery.
In future, Parapuar will become a new icon for Labuan Bajo tourism as a new destination to increase tourists' stay period and open job opportunities, she remarked.
Fatina noted that the Parapuar area has four development zones, namely the Cultural Zone, Leisure Zone, Adventure Zone, and Wild Nature Zone. However, the authority body will only develop 20 percent of the total area and return the remaining area to forest function as part of the ecosystem.
"Apart from tourism, the development of this area is expected to bring employment opportunities and increase the community's welfare," she noted.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Angela Tanoesoedibjo, who witnessed the certificate handover, expressed hope that tourists visiting the area would experience sustainable tourism.
"We aim to develop sustainable tourism here. Most of the area will remain as a green area, and we will preserve it. However, we will also develop adventure, research, and cultural experiences," she remarked.
Moreover, Tanoesoedibjo noted that 11 investors had taken part in witnessing the handover of the HPL.
She remarked that her side and BPOLBF had to convince investors regarding legal certainty for them to plan investments in Parapuar.
"We must collaborate with BPOLBF to utilize this area as inclusive tourism," she stated.
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