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.