The land of the Cendrawasih: Opportunities and threats

By P. Semedi

Exploring Irian Jaya is like diving into an ocean. One can never reach the bottom. The deeper one dives, the clearer the beauty and the more exotic it is. It is clear that this place is home to hidden beauty.

Encompassing 416,000 square kilometers and covered by tropical forests, Irian Jaya possesses the richest biodiversity in the Pacific region. The biggest and highest mountain range looks like a chain connecting the east and west of the province. Valleys and rivers slice the large area into fragments.

This topography is one of the natural barriers to floral distribution and the migration of fauna. Irian Jaya was composed by several plate formations that have been integrated and reflect the evolution of the plates.

In general, the biota is divided into four regions: north, south, an area to the west, locally called "head of a bird", due to its shape, and the highlands.

Furthermore, the various environmental factors such as oil, humidity and moisture affect the heterogeneity and variety of distribution patterns of the flora and fauna.

Since Irian Jaya is situated between the continents of Asia and Australia, the species of flora and fauna also reflect the combination of those on the two continents.

A report titled Priority of Biodiversity Conservation shows that this province contains about 20,000 to 25,000 species of vascular plant. Of those, however, only 1,800 specimens have been collected.

There are about 200,000 to 300,000 insects. And, according to experts, half of this number is endemic. Insects, especially beautifully colored butterflies, are commercially valuable. This is why it is important to set up seminatural butterfly farming to ensure their survival.

There are also 330 species of reptiles and amphibians, including snakes. But not all of the species have been identified.

It is estimated that there are about 500 species of reptiles in Irian Jaya. Species of snakes and turtles are now endangered.

Irian Jaya features approximately 650 species of birds, of which 39 are endemic and classified as endangered. This number is higher than that in Southeast Asia forests. About 200 species breed in the lowland evergreens of the island.

Endangered species

Data on the existence of the mammals are minimal. So far, 164 species have been identified, of which 30 species, including the tree kangaroo, are endangered.

Some of those species, such as the wallaby, porcupine, cuscus, Maokop giant rat and whale, as well as the freshwater dolphin, are found on Numfor island in the Lorentz National Park area.

Both the rivers and seas contain many beautiful species, such as rainbow fish and stingrays. There are also mangrove trees and coral reefs in this area, and they remain intact.

All the above mentioned do not include all the flora and fauna of Irian Jaya. Surveys and research need to be conducted to gather new data and information. Unfortunately, these efforts are difficult to implement.

According to Thomas Barano Materay, a senior World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) officer stationed in Jayapura, the vastness of the province is what inhibits the research. This is worsened by the difficulty in reaching unfriendly and remote areas of Irian Jaya.

Up to now, 55 areas, which cover 10,141,577 hectares, have been designated protected areas. This includes national parks, recreation parks, nature reserves, marine national parks, mountains, sanctuaries and proposed protected areas.

Wasur National Park, Lorentz National Park, Teluk Cendrawasih National Park and Aru Tenggara Marine Reserve are examples of protected areas.

Extinction

At 31 years, Irian Jaya is the youngest province in Indonesia and has a long list of problems that endanger the existence of its flora and fauna. This is primarily caused by harmful human intervention that disturbs the population.

Take the example of birds. Some 13 species are endangered and the other 30 species are classified as almost endangered, including the Irian eagle, maleo, cockatoo and bird of paradise (Cendrawasih).

"These species cannot escape from being hunted," says John A. Maturbong of the WWF. The number of Cendrawasih has decreased to 4-5 birds per square kilometer.

Although this species is protected by Law No. 5/1990 on conservation of living resources and the ecosystem, events that occur in the field are contrary to this legal measure. The WWF has been monitoring the trade of animals.

Trading

In its June 2000 report, covering the previous year, protected birds were observed being freely traded in Manokwari and Jayapura. The birds were then smuggled to Java and sold in Surabaya and Jakarta.

The law stipulates that whoever is caught keeping protected species will be fined Rp 200 million and sent to jail. However, the enforcement of that law has not been seen. "Among those who keep the birds are top-ranking government officials," says Barano.

"Those people are free from any (legal) action. As a result, all laws are just like a toothless tiger who is unable to bite an offender."

History tells us that animal trading in Irian Jaya commenced in the 15th Century. At that time, the people of Raja Ampat island used the skin of the Cendrawasih to barter for dishes, clothes, mugs and tobacco from Tidore.

In 1521, King Batjan presented two bird skins to the king of Spain, while in 1919, the Dutch colonial government plundered as many as 121,000 bird skins and 1,100 kilograms of cockatoo feathers. Until recently, this activity showed no sign of decreasing.

Another threatened species is the arawana in Merauke. This species of fish is eaten by the local people. And they know that this fish is highly valuable.

Its population has dropped and has even become difficult to find in the Merauke, Digul, Kumba, Bulaka and Biau rivers.

Tree kangaroos and local fish species such as the rainbow fish are also threatened. This is because they are sold for their beauty and because of the introduction of exotic fish species.

New species have been introduced into Irian Jaya in order to improve the quality of nutrition for the community. However, they grow and develop uncontrollably and become competitors to the local species. In the end, the population of the local species decreases.

The population of the quick reproducing long-tailed monkey also threatens the local monkeys. During World War II, the monkeys were brought in by alliance soldiers and used to detect palatable food.

When the war ended, the soldiers left Irian Jaya but did not take the monkeys with them. The population grew quickly, spread throughout the province and they became pests. They live in groups and invade rice fields, banana plantations, eat coconuts and even Cendrawasih eggs.

Gaharu (Aquilaria spp.) was once abundant in Irian Jaya, but is now almost extinct because of its high commercial value. To grow gahura is very difficult. Over-exploitation of the forests in some protected areas will harm the flora, and, in turn, the fauna will become extinct.

To make monitoring, preservation and research easy, the WWF divides Irian Jaya into 12 ecoregions. The criteria are based on the existing distribution of the flora and fauna. They are: Australian Mangroves, Cendrawasih Bay Moist Forests, Central Range Montane Forests, Maoko Ranga Montane Forests, Northern Guinea Lowland Forests and Maoko Rnage Alpine Meadows.

Opportunities

Regional autonomy, as stipulated in Law No. 22/1999, is an opportunity to accelerate development in all regions in Indonesia, including 13 districts in Irian Jaya. When this policy is implemented, a lot of investors will be attracted to investing in Irian Jaya. The local government should be doing all it can to invite investors into the province.

On the other hand, however, regional autonomy can threaten the existence of species in Irian Jaya. Many worry that development will destroy natural resources if the environment is over exploited in an unacceptable way.

President Abdurrahman Wahid's statement that the LGN plant in Teluk Bintuni is allowed to operate will worsen this situation. This means that many investors will come to exploit natural resources in Irian Jaya. "If there is no warning from the outset, the environment will be sacrificed," said Barano.

With regard to that situation, from Aug. 28 to Aug. 31, 2000, the WWF held a workshop on the Priority of Biodiversity Conservation in Irian Jaya. This four-day workshop involved many stakeholders, from both government and non-government organizations.

This event was not only to set up a biodiversity inventory, but also to implement spatial development in Irian Jaya, which is expected to be used by the government in coming to a decision.

"Development, of course, which is environmentally friendly," said Barano, head of the steering committee of the workshop.

Presently, there are some policies that are contradictory to each other. An example is what happened in Merauke. The government has set aside Wasur National Park, but at the same time, it also set up transmigrational settlement in the park. As a result, natural resources within the park have been destroyed.

"In order to avoid this," said Warano, "local people must be involved from decision-making to implementation, so that in the future, they will not sue the government because they feel deceived."