Illegal bird trade still rampant across Indonesia, NGO says

Illegal bird trade still rampant across Indonesia, NGO says

P.C. Naommy, Jakarta

A non-governmental organization has alleged that smuggling and
trading in endangered bird species continue unabated, despite
legislation that prohibits the illegal activities.

Citing an investigation carried out from December 2003 to May
2004, Rosek Nursahid of ProFauna Indonesia said on Tuesday that
as many as 9,600 salmon-crested cockatoos (Cacatua moluccensis)
were caught in the Seram islands, Maluku, and sold to bird
exporters in Jakarta via Ambon each year.

"The actual total could be nine times as high as we've
recorded," said Rosek Tuesday.

Rosek alleged that the illegal practice involved Ambon's
largest bird trader, PT Pembangunan Maluku Permai, and Seram's
most prominent bird collector and trader, Kartini. Neither could
not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

According to the report, an illegal trader, like Kartini,
could collect an average of 50 cockatoos per month and earn at
least Rp 37.5 million (US$4033) from the illegal trade in Ambon
alone.

Rosek said that once the birds entered Jakarta the price would
be much higher. A monitoring report from ProFauna in 2003 showed
that salmon-crested cockatoos had been traded openly for about Rp
1 million each at bird markets in Java.

The government has listed the salmon-crested cockatoo in
Appendix One of the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which
prohibits any commercial trade in such animals.

Law No. 5/1990 on conservation of natural resources and
ecosystems also prohibits trading in protected animals. Anyone
convicted faces maximum imprisonment of five years and a fine of
up to Rp 100 million.

However, the government, via the Indonesian Institute of
Sciences (LIPI) and the Directorate General of Forest Protection
and Nature Conservation (PHKA), has made an exception by allowing
trade in this bird species for particular purposes, with a
specified quota for international markets.

According to LIPI, the permit allows trading only for
scientific but not commercial purposes. Birds being traded must
come from a breeding center, not from their natural habitat.

The policy has drawn a pessimistic response from
environmentalists due to weak law enforcement in Indonesia.

"The government should impose a trapping moratorium on all
endangered animals, because traders and exporters will misuse
special licenses to sanction their illegal activities," said
Rosek.

Animal activist Willie Smith said that, annually, about 50,000
cockatoos were smuggled from Papua to other islands, mostly Java.

Smith also said that it would be hard to eliminate the
practice, as about 90 percent of the smuggling was backed or even
carried out by the Indonesian Military (TNI).

The taking of serious measures against perpetrators has been
hampered by conflicts of interests and a lack of seriousness from
departments responsible for protecting natural resources.

"I have proposed an eight-month plan to eliminate illegal
trading in wildlife at Pramuka bird market, but there's been no
positive response," said Yunus, an investigator at the Natural
Resources Conservation Office (BKSDA) in Jakarta.

The Pramuka market, Jakarta, is well-known as a center for
some of the world's most extensive black-market trade in animals.
Thousands of animals, including rare species such as cockatoos,
gibbons, owls and eagles, can be found there.

Yunus said that without official permission from his
institution, he would be unable to implement the plan to
eliminate the illegal trade, even if he received funding
assistance from Willie Smith, who is also the chairman of the
Balikpapan Orangutan Survival Foundation.