Small birds are big news for national conservation

Small birds are big news for national conservation

By John Aglionby

BOGOR, West Java (JP): Like most discoveries it happened by
accident. While lying flat on his back 1,400 meters up a mountain
in the jungle on the Moluccan island of Buru, Michael Poulsen saw
a curious creature scampering up and down a tree trunk.

Even though they had not been observed for more than 70 years,
Poulsen, an ornithologist with the non-governmental organization
Birdlife International, immediately recognized the two sparrow-
sized olive-green and gray birds with striking orange throats as
White-eyed flycatchers, a species unique to the island.

"It was not at all what we expected," Poulsen said.
"Flycatchers are small birds that are very acrobatic and usually
jump around very quickly from branch to branch. But these never
went out to the leaves."

This sighting took place at the end of last year, and is one
of five such rediscoveries in Indonesia in the last 15 months.
The others are the Invisible Rail, which was seen for the first
time since 1948 in a sago swamp on the island of Halmahera, in
the Moluccas; the Lompobattang Flycatcher, named after the
mountain of the same name in South Sulawesi and not seen since
1931; the Caerulean Paradise Flycatcher, confined to the small
island of Sangihe off North Sulawesi and not seen since 1978 and
the Streaky-breasted Jungle-flycatcher, another species unique to
Buru and not seen since 1921.

Poulsen admits that the birds themselves may be of little
interest to non-ornithologists, but stresses that the
implications of the rediscoveries are important. "It's exciting
to think that there still things out there that are barely known,
or even unknown, to science."

Derek Holmes, editor of Kulika, the journal of the Indonesian
Ornithological Society, agrees that these sightings show that we
may not yet be aware of all the animals on the planet. He said:
"I think there's a very good chance of finding new species.
They're not going to be exciting species with beautiful colors
but small brown jobs that live deep in forest undergrowth and
will probably only be of interest to scientists."

The rediscoveries and the work of Birdlife International's
Indonesia program have helped rejuvenate interest in ornithology
and protecting wildlife in Indonesia. Program coordinator Paul
Jepson said: "People do seem to be taking an interest and pride
in the birds in their communities, particularly when they are
told that the species are found nowhere else in the world.

"For instance the Directorate General of Forest Protection and
Nature Conservation responded quickly to the rediscovery of the
Invisible Rail by writing to the governor of the Moluccas and
district officer of Halmahera requesting their assistance to help
ensure that the rail was protected until further surveys are
completed."

Birdlife has also established a network of 41 bird clubs
throughout the country to promote bird-watching. Jepson said:
"Many of these clubs existed anyway but there was little
coordination between them and little knowledge of what was
happening in different parts of the country."

The success of the program was demonstrated last week when
President Soeharto was given a copy of Birdlife's latest book on
the birds of Indonesia by Minister of Forestry Djamaludin
Suryohadikusumo.

All those involved, however, believe the impact of the
rediscoveries will go well beyond the world of the
ornithologists.

Raising environmental awareness in outlying areas is a case in
point. John Riley, leader of the team that saw the Caerulean
Paradise Flycatcher, is returning to Sangihe and the neighboring
island of Talaud later this month on a six-month expedition to
teach the locals the importance of conserving their surroundings.

He said: "In the West conservation awareness is advanced
through the work of many NGOs but here many people still do not
appreciate the importance of conserving species' habitats and
local biodiversity."

With the help of scientists from Sam Ratulangi University in
Manado, Riley's team is hoping to teach the concepts of
agricultural sustainability and the benefits that can be gained
from conserving the environment.

National development planning, particularly in connection with
which locations should be protected on account of their rich
biodiversity (the variety of plant and animal species present),
is another area where the work of organizations such as Birdlife
can play a part.

The World Bank's biodiversity expert Dr. Kathy MacKinnon, on a
visit to Indonesia last week, said: "Indonesia is probably the
second most biodiverse country in the world but a major problem
is that people are not aware of how special it is and how
important conservation is here."

Indonesia, home to 17 percent of the world's species of birds,
has had a national conservation plan for 15 years and much of it
has been implemented. But, MacKinnon said: "While more people,
including government ministers, are becoming interested in
conservation, there needs to be more coordination to ensure
development continues in the most appropriate manner."

Jepson said: "Masses of money is being invested into
biodiversity conservation but the planning for it is based on a
very incomplete understanding of what is there. So how do the
planners know if they are making the right decisions?

"That is why baseline surveys of species, and by implication
the rediscoveries, are important. By knowing which habitats are
the most biodiversely rich planners are able to act much more
effectively."