RI hails rules on endangered species<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia welcomes the decisions made at the
\nConvention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
\nFauna and Flora (CITES) which ended Friday, giving individual
\ncountries the authority to control exports of certain rare
\nspecies.<\/p>\n
Purwadi Mangunwardoyo, secretary of the Directorate General of
\nNature Preservation and Forest Protection, Forestry Ministry,
\nyesterday hailed the decision to protect endangered species
\nwithout depriving local people of their right to make money from
\nthe business.<\/p>\n
Indonesia was among 118 CITES members attending its ninth
\nmeeting in Florida, the United States. The two-week, biennial
\nconference also involved eight non-member countries, 46
\ninternational organizations and 130 local organizations.<\/p>\n
Purwadi, who represented the Indonesian government in the
\ngathering, told The Jakarta Post that one of the significant
\ndecisions taken by the meeting was its approval to put dragon
\nfish (Scleropages formasus, locally well-known as arwana) in the
\ncategory of endangered species, allowing export only after proper
\nbreeding. Indonesia stands to benefit from this as the breeding
\nof these fish, which are mainly found in Kalimantan, has been
\npracticed for quite a while, he said.<\/p>\n
CITES has outlined the three categories of endangered species
\nwhich can be traded. Species in the first category, listed in
\nAppendix I, can be traded on the condition that they are from the
\nsecond generation of a breeding. Appendix II lists the endangered
\nspecies which can be traded based on the quota decided by the
\ninternational convention. Trade in the third category of
\nendangered species, which are listed in Appendix III, is entirely
\nup to the member countries.<\/p>\n
Purwadi said that due to Indonesia's objection, the CITES
\nconference rejected the Switzerland's proposal to transfer Irian
\nJaya crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) from the list in Appendix II
\nto Appendix I.<\/p>\n
\"We have not bred the crocodiles. If it was included in
\nAppendix I, a lot of people in Irian Jaya who make a living from
\n(hunting) the crocodiles would suffer,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Denying that this would lead the species to the brink of
\nextinction, Purwadi said that there were at least 500,000 of
\nthese crocodiles in Irian Jaya.<\/p>\n
Indonesia applauded the conference's decision to turn down
\nItaly's earlier proposal to set an international quota for the
\ntrade of swallows and a similar proposal from the Netherlands on
\nthe trade of ramin wood (Gonystylus bancanus), he said.<\/p>\n
Ramin is a white wood widely used for making furniture in
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
\"We don't want the world to control the trade (of swallow
\nnests and the wood),\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said that even though Indonesia exported a huge volume of
\nramin wood, this would not jeopardize the species because the
\ncountry regulates exploitation of the wood.<\/p>\n
CITES urged the Indonesian government to make greater efforts
\nto protect its rare species. Purwadi said that Indonesia had
\nbecome more cautious about the issue of trading in endangered
\nspecies after signing a convention in 1976.<\/p>\n
He admitted that there still was a practice of illegal trade
\nof endangered species in the country largely due to the lack of
\npublic awareness about preservation and weak law enforcement.<\/p>\n
\"As a matter of fact, we have adequate laws to protect
\nendangered species. It is the enforcement which must be
\nimproved,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He called on all involved government institutions to work
\ntogether to prevent the unlawful trade of protected species.(sim)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-hails-rules-on-endangered-species-1447893297",
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