Pulau Menipo
Location:
10°10'S, 124°21'E; on the south coast of Timor, 85 km east of Kupang, West Timor Province, East Nusa Tenggara.
Area:
2,499.5 ha.
Altitude:
Sea level.
Biogeographical Province:
4.23.12.
Wetland type:
02, 05 & 07.
Description of site:
Menipo Island is a small, sandy island in the estuary of the Noilmira River. The island supports mangrove forest, beach vegetation with Pandanus trees, and a line of Spinifex grass just above the beach. The estuary contains some good mangrove forest, but most areas outside the Game Reserve have been degraded by the inhabitants of three nearby villages.
Climatic conditions:
Rather dry, tropical monsoonal climate with an annual rainfall of less than 1,200 mm. The average temperature is 28°C.
Principal vegetation:
Mangrove forest with Rhizophora sp, Bruguiera sp. Xylocarpus moluccensis and Sonneratia acida beach vegetation with Pandanus sp, Spinifex sp, Barringtonia asiatiea, Hibiscus tiliaceus, Terminalia catappa and Crotalaria retusa.
Land tenure:
State owned; managed by PHPA.
Conservation measures taken:
The area was designated as a Game Reserve in 1977.
Land use:
Fishing.
Disturbances and threats:
Shifting cultivation, illegal settlement, and cutting of mangroves for firewood.
Economic and social values:
No information.
Fauna:
Little information is available. Waterbirds known to occur in the area include Phalacrocorax sulcirostris, Nycticorax caledonicus, Egretta sacra, Dendrocygna guttata, Esacus magnirostris. Actitis hypoleucos and Halcyon sancta. Mammals include Pteropus sp, Macaca fascicularis, Sus scrofa and Paradoxurus hermaphroditus. Reptiles include Chelonia mydas, Vipera russeli and Draco volans.
Special floral values:
The island is noted for its Sandalwood Santalum albium.
References:
FAO (l981c); Planologi Kehutanan (1980).
Criteria for Inclusion:
1b.
Source:
Agustinus W. Taufik.