Indonesia kills off one species every day: Official

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia, with the second-largest biodiversity in the world, has been losing one species a day, and up to 70 percent of species' original habitats in the last decade, a senior government official has said.

Division head of biodiversity at the Office of the State Minister of the Environment B. Satyawan Wardhana said on Tuesday that the losses in biodiversity were due mainly to various types of land conversion, pollution and invasion by other creatures.

"The threat will still continue at the same rate in the future," he told The Jakarta Post in a special interview in conjunction with World Biodiversity Day, to be marked on May 22.

The 2003 biodiversity day carries the theme, Biodiversity and Poverty Alleviation, Challenges for Sustainable Development.

Satyawan said land conversion included forest conversion into oil palm plantations, illegal logging and conversion of wetland and farmland into real estate and for other uses.

The deforestation rate in the country has reportedly reached 2.4 million hectares per year.

The country is also reported to have over 3 million hectares of oil palm plantations and plans to develop another 96,000 hectares this year.

Pollution comprises land, air and water pollution that can kill plants and animals.

Creature invasion includes attacks on plants or animals due to others, such as the water hyacinth (Eichornia erassipes), locally known as enceng gondok, which can indirectly kill other plants and fish.

In the case of land conversion, Satyawan said it was impossible for the government simply to stop land conversion before establishing better spatial planning, including designating areas that could be converted.

The government should also enforce environment laws to fight against any illegal land conversion as well as pollution, he added.

Indonesia's land area covers only 1.3 percent of the world's land, but it possesses up to 17 percent of the total number of species of plants and animals in the world.

Its ecosystem ranges from icy land in Papua to lowland forest, from deep lake to shallow swamps.

Indonesia also has the world's longest list of endangered species, including 126 birds, 63 mammals, and 21 reptiles.

With such huge biodiversity, Indonesia is supposed to be able to meet its staple food demand, but unfortunately at present the country is becoming a major importer of rice, sugar and corn, Satyawan said.

Indonesia should also be able to largely develop its biodiversity for various purposes, such as cosmetic products and medicine, but not many people realized it, he added.

About 40 million people in the country are still trapped in poverty and unemployment.

The government, according to Satyawan, was still trying to identify species that had economic value so that people could use them for daily needs and business purposes.

"We also plan to promote the idea that biodiversity can help the country eradicate poverty by being aware of its benefits and making use of them," he said.