Indonesia's fauna is in dire straits

Dead as a dodo has been the epitaph for many animal species after they have slipped into extinction. But for future generations, the name of the flightless bird could well be replaced with dozens of Indonesian species now perilously close to vanishing forever. Conservation of species brings with it complex issues, particularly the needs of human populations over animals. The Jakarta Post's team of reporters, Sugianto Tandra, Stevie Emilia, Benget Simbolon, Ridwan M. Sijabat, T. Sima Gunawan, Meidyatama Suryodiningrat and Arief Suhardiman, takes a closer look at the issue. More stories are on page 3, page 4 and page 5.

JAKARTA (JP): Out of focus, yellowed and frayed by age, the photograph is nothing distinguished in itself.

But this grainy picture, taken in 1938 on the edge of West Java's Ujung Kulon national park, is immensely significant as the final documentation of the Javan tiger. The animal is striding swiftly out of the frame into the murky forest, and also heading into the labyrinth of extinction. Once so common as to strike fear into Java's human population, the tiger is now almost certainly lost to habitat destruction and hunting.

Indonesia is one of the richest areas of biodiversity in the world. It boasts 12 percent of the world's mammal species, 16 percent of reptiles and amphibians, and 17 percent of birds. Many species are found nowhere else on earth.

This veritable Noah's Ark is now threatened like never before. The Komodo dragon, Sumatran tiger and Javan rhinoceros, the owner of the dubious distinction as the rarest large land mammal for the past half century, are just the elite tip of the iceberg of vanishing species.

Far removed from the celebrated conservation projects, hundreds of animals are fighting for survival. Who will mourn the loss of the little-known Sumatran hare, sighted a handful of times in the past 20 years, or the Bawean deer, restricted to a tiny island off the East Java coast, or the Javan hawk-eagle, one of the rarest birds in the world and possibly one of the most endangered ones?

Call them casualties of civilization and development -- nearly all of the endangered animals are victims of human progress, their populations decimated by hunting, habitat loss to human encroachment, the illegal pet trade or the introduction of animals such as cats, dogs and rats.

The world has met to discuss the issue and seek the solution -- from 1992's Earth Summit in Rio and the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species in Harare in June, to the just-ended Third World International Conference on Zero Emissions here.

President Soeharto, opening the three-day conference Thursday, underlined the need to stop the reckless exploitation of natural resources.

"Our future generations will suffer if ecological disruption is not stopped," he warned.

In Indonesia, the effort to conserve the environment dates back to 1931, according to Dwiatmo Siswomartono, director of Flora-Fauna Conservation and Nature Reserve Management at the Forest Protection and Nature Conservation (PHPA). There are 361 protected species of flora and fauna on his list.

"Our job is to continue Noah's efforts to save them. We built small boats ... national parks and conservation areas to protect them," he told The Jakarta Post last week.

He said Indonesia still had enough space to accommodate the rich biodiversity.

"We have 144 million hectares of forests," he said.

PHPA receives less than Rp 16 billion a year to conserve the environment across the archipelago, which comprises 17,000 islands and 81,000 kilometers of beaches.

Dwiatmo did not complain about the limited budget. What is more important, he said, is better coordination with other government institutions to protect the environment.

"On the contrary, there are government officials who keep endangered species ... There are even those who back the smuggling of the animals," he said.

The government has launched breeding programs in various areas to save those on the brink of extinction. One successful project is for Komodo dragons at Gembira Loka Zoo, Yogyakarta.

Taman Safari in Bogor has also been recruited to breed endangered species. Earlier this year, the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary, a project to breed the Sumatran rhino, was launched in Way Kambas National Park, Lampung.

The government's breeding projects are an encouraging step. But more must be done.

Ron Lilley, coordinator of species conservation at the Worldwide Fund for Nature Indonesia Program, has called for more attention to animals in the wild.

"Many species, in my opinion, need intensive management. In some cases they need captive breeding programs, but perhaps in many more cases they need management and protection of their habitat. And they need physically protecting from poachers, however you might do that of all stages from poacher to the end buyer," he said.

"Otherwise, all that resource will be lost, and then the people, however much they depend on it, will be far, far poorer because the resource is gone.

Conservation of species raises many troubling ethical issues. Zoos and wildlife parks, long championed as viable refuges for endangered species, are now increasingly viewed as last resorts. Many animals do not breed well in captivity and others, such as polar bears, become literally stir-crazy in confined spaces.

The day may be fast approaching when species are evaluated according to their worth to humans. Governments and conservation organizations may be pushed into a role of playing God, deciding whether the Asian elephant, say, or Javan pig is the more fitting recipient of protection funds and efforts.

Conservation of these dwindling species is inextricably tied to human problems of poverty and displacement. An Irianese farmer, trying desperately to eke out a living and tempted by the promise of much-needed rupiah, is unlikely to consider the ethical quandary of selling a rare cockatoo to a middleman, who sells it to a bird trader in Jakarta or another major city.

It is the middleman and bird trader, not the farmer, who enjoy the benefits. The market price is ten times more than what the farmer receives.

"Even if nine out of 10 cockatoos die on the way (from Irian Jaya to Jakarta) -- and that happens a lot -- the trader can still make profits," Lilley said.

If concerted and comprehensive efforts are not undertaken to conserve many of Indonesia's threatened species, they may join the Javan tiger as a lost curiosity of the past, known only from films and moth-eaten specimens in museums.