Editing Sumba (section)

==Geography, climate and ecology==
[[File:SundaIslands.A2003242.0225.500m.jpg|thumb|August 2003 NASA satellite photograph of the Lesser Sunda Islands; Sumba is in the bottom centre]]
The largest town on the island is the main port of [[Waingapu]] near the mouth of the [[Kambaniru River]], with a population of 71,752<ref name="Badan Pusat Statistik 2024">Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2024, ''Provinsi Nusa Tenggara Timur Dalam Angka 2024'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.53)</ref> (including the adjoining district of Kambera) in mid 2023.

The landscape is low, limestone hills, rather than the steep volcanoes of many Indonesian islands. There is a dry season from May to November and a rainy season from December to April. The western side of the island is more fertile and more heavily populated than the east.

Although generally thought to be originally part of the [[Gondwana]] southern hemisphere supercontinent, recent research suggests that the island might have detached from the South East Asia margin. 
Most of it was originally covered in [[deciduous]] [[monsoon]] forest while the south-facing slopes, which remain moist during the dry season, were evergreen [[rainforest]].<ref name="Wikramanayake2002"/>
The northern part of the island is extremely arid; the soils have been depleted from deforestation and erosion.<ref name="sum_info">{{cite web |title= Sumba |website= sumba-information.eu |language= fr |url= https://www.sumba-information.eu/ |access-date= 2024-06-15 }}</ref>
Sumba is in the [[Wallacea]] region, having a mixture of plants and animals of [[Asia]]n and [[Australasia]]n origin. 
Due to its distinctive flora and fauna, Sumba has been categorised by the [[World Wildlife Fund]] as the Sumba deciduous forests [[ecoregion]].<ref name="Wikramanayake2002">{{cite book |last=Wikramanayake|first=Eric D.|title=Terrestrial Ecoregions of the Indo-Pacific: A Conservation Assessment |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_VGRBWqIG2gC&pg=PA532|access-date=2 February 2013|year=2002|publisher=Island Press|isbn=978-1-55963-923-1|page=532}}</ref>

===Fauna===
[[File:Village-Sumba.jpg|thumb|right|A village in Sumba]]
There are a number of mammals, but the island is particularly rich in bird-life with nearly 200 birds, of which seven [[Endemism|endemic]] species and a number of others are found only here and on some nearby islands. The endemic birds include the endangered [[Sumba eclectus|Sumba eclectus parrot]], four vulnerable species — the secretive [[Sumba boobook]] owl, [[Sumba buttonquail]], [[red-naped fruit-dove]], and [[Sumba hornbill]] — as well as three more common species: the [[Sumba green pigeon]], [[Sumba flycatcher]], and [[apricot-breasted sunbird]].<ref name="Wikramanayake2002"/> [[Saltwater crocodile]]s can still be found in some areas.

The [[Sumba hornbill]] or ''Julang Sumba'' (''Rhyticeros everetti'') is under increasing threat of extinction. Indiscriminate deforestation is threatening their survival. The population is estimated at less than 4,000 with an average density of six individuals per square kilometre. A hornbill can fly to and from over an area of up to 100 square kilometres.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/72874/sumba-hornbills-under-increasing-threat-of-extinction|title=Sumba Hornbills under increasing threat of extinction|publisher=Antara News|access-date=2 February 2013}}</ref>

===Threats and preservation===
Most of the original forest has been cleared for the planting of [[maize]], [[cassava]], and other crops so only small isolated patches remain. Furthermore, this clearance is ongoing due to the growing population of the island and this represents a threat to the birds.<ref>{{WWF ecoregion|id=aa0203|name=Sumba deciduous forests}}</ref>

In 1998 two national parks were designated on the island for the protection of endangered species: the [[Laiwangi Wanggameti National Park]] and [[Manupeu Tanah Daru National Park]].