The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has urged the Indonesian government to halt all tourism infrastructure projects in East Nusa Tenggara province's Komodo National Park.

The Indonesian environment ministry said Thursday that work on a tourism project dubbed "Jurassic Park" on social media will continue.

UNESCO officials informed a World Heritage Committee meeting, in July, that the project needed a new environmental impact assessment owing to worries about illegal fishing and the potential threat to the Komodo dragon's natural habitat.

In 2020, work on a series of tourism projects in Indonesia's Komodo National Park, a Unesco World Heritage Site, started, raising concerns about potential dangers to the local economy and the park's namesake, the Komodo dragon's delicate environment.

Officials from UNESCO said they had requested an updated assessment from the Indonesian government during a meeting last month but had not received one.

It's unclear what the project, which is based on the island of Rinca, comprises. The government said, in 2020, that it was constructing a "premium tourism spot" on the island.

Wiratno, director-general of natural resources conservation and ecotourism at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, said the project mostly involved maintenance work on existing facilities and posed no threat to the endangered Komodo dragons.

Sandiaga Uno, Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, also defended the projects and said the government would put the Komodo dragons' environment first.

"The goal is a Komodo National Park that is managed with utmost care without harming biodiversity and ecosystems there," he told an online press conference on Aug. 2.

Protests against a proposal to attract high-end tourists erupted last year after a photograph of a Komodo dragon coming face to face with a truck surfaced.

For starters, the Komodo dragon is a rare reptile that can only be found in Komodo National Park, which is accessible via Labuan Bajo on Flores' western tip.

The government has classified Labuan Bajo as a high-priority tourist site that is undergoing significant development. The G20 and ASEAN summits will be held there in 2023.

According to government estimates, the national park is home to approximately 3,000 Komodo dragons.