Modest start to RI genetic engineering
Modest start to RI genetic engineering
BOGOR, West Java (JP): Indonesia has entered the most modern
branch of science in a very humble way.
From a temporary laboratory in his modest home here, Yanuarso,
a staff researcher at the Agency for the Assessment and
Application of Technology (BPPT), has begun experimenting with
the artificial insemination of a local breed of chicken.
The chickens (ayam buras, or non-breeder chickens) are being
experimented with to later set up a sperm and embryo bank for
rare species of fowl.
"The development of biotechnology is to support conservation
and it follows (Indonesia's commitment) to Agenda 21," said
Prasetyo Sunaryo, the director of BPPT's division of technology
and environment.
Agenda 21 refers to the action plans laid out at the 1992
Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
While acknowledging that he was not fully informed on the
ethical questions of genetic engineering, Prasetyo said the
agency is following the guidelines set by the office of the State
Minister of Environment. "We support the Ministry, which has
ruled that we should give priority to species that are on the
verge of extinction."
Among the endangered species of fowl is the ayam pelung, a
native chicken of Cianjur, West Java. Famed for its unique voice,
there are now an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 left in Indonesia.
Yanuarso, a specialist in animal genetics and breeding, said
some foreign countries have already started developing their own
breeds of rare Indonesian animal and plant species.
He said many people here believe that Japanese scientists are
developing their own version of the ayam pelung, following two
visits by Prince Akishino, an avid bird collector, to the Cianjur
regency.
"Fowl lovers sense that the Japanese will develop their own
version because every time the Prince comes to Indonesia he
always brings a large group of scientists with him."
Yanuarso showed a Trubus magazine report which said that
foreign scientists have already developed the 'Bangkok pigeon'
from a Javanese species.
Japan itself, since 1985, has prohibited the export of one its
own rare bird species, the long-tailed onagadori tosa.
Indonesia, host to an upcoming international conference on
biodiversity later this year, plans to push for intellectual
property rights protection for its natural resources. Indonesia's
biodiversity ranks second with the largest number of species in
the world after Brazil.
Yanuarso told The Jakarta Post that biotechnology, as well as
legal measures, will play a key role in the efforts to protect
and save rare species.
Yanuarso said studies into the storage of chicken sperm was
initiated in 1978 by British scientists, while the research has
only recently been developed in this country.
BPPT's division has received Rp 90 million (US$40,000) this
year for the program to inseminate hens, with most of the money
going to the purchase of new equipment.
"We have a container to keep 2,400 vials of chicken sperm,
which is much more efficient than keeping the same number of
animals in one site," said Yanuarso, whose 54-square-meter home
has been converted into a temporary laboratory pending the
completion of the laboratory for conservation technology in
Serpong, near here, scheduled for 1997.
Yanuarso has four part-time assistants helping him with the
project. (anr)