Biodiversity conservation, community development and geotourism development in Bromo-Tengger-Semeru-Arjuno biosphere reserve, East Java

The objective of the paper are to identify levels of bio-geodiversity of Bromo-Tengger-Semeru-Arjuno area, describes local community and factors triggering biodiversity disturbance and declines, and establishes recommendations for geotourism development in Bromo-Tengger-Semeru-Arjuno Biosphere Reserve, Indonesia. This study cundected a series of field observation, secondary data analisys and interview at the local and regional levels. Result shows that Bromo-Tengger-Semeru-Arjuno has high biodiversity and is the most diverse highland region in East Java Province. There are a large number of flora-fauna and geological phenomena, reflecting the importance of biodiversity conservation and geotourism development in this area. While there are many positive impacts from tourism, there are also environmental problems. A number of identified problems encompass unsustainable agriculture practices, illegal hunting, illegal logging, forest fire, illegal plant collections and tourism. A large number of visitors at some attraction locationsare a critical issue in the biosphere reserve area. The development of other tourist spots has been important to reduce human impact to the biophysical environment of biosphere reserves. The challenges facing the development of sustainable geotorism in Bromo-Tengger-Semeru-Arjuno Biosphere Reserve are to find a balance between conservation and tourism as well as involve local people as active participants in tourism development.