What they say about endangered species

JAKARTA (JP): The problem of endangered animals has more to do with humans than the animals themselves.

Is the government doing enough to protect the country's wildlife? Is it a question of economic demand? Or could it be that humans, as the dominant mammal, just enjoy prevailing over other less powerful species?

Dwiatmo Siswomartono, Director for Flora and Fauna Conservation and Nature Reserve Management, Ministry of Forestry, says there is still a deeply embedded perception among some Indonesians that keeping endangered animals as pets carries prestige.

"The more protected is an animal, the more they will strive to get one for a pet," Dwiatmo says. He adds that the attitude is one of the obstacles faced by the government in its efforts to protect endangered animals.

Dwiatmo calls on all high-ranking government officials to reject endangered animals when given as gifts, a common practice of local officials or businessmen in Irian Jaya, Maluku and Bali.

The public, he says, should also participate in preventing trade in endangered animals like the ones found in Pramuka bird market in Jakarta, Ngasem market in Yogyakarta and other similar markets in Surabaya.

Dwiatmo says Indonesians should show the world that they can manage sustainable animal conservation programs, especially by 1999 when Indonesia will host the 10th Conference of Parties (COP) on Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES).

Inanti P. Diran, president of PT Kalyana Mitra Alambhana, travel & tourist consultants, says failure in protecting endangered animals has caused the country to lose important wildlife species.

"Don't you think it would be good for our grandchildren to have all the species we have now?" she asks. "It would be a pity if our children were not able to see them."

Above all, she adds, extinction of species could have severe repercussions on the ecosystem.

"The government has to make sure that all the regulations on preserving the species are strictly enforced, and educate the public on the very importance of preserving the environment," she remarks.

Ully Sigar, a singer, environmentalist and chairperson of the Vidi Vici music school, acknowledges the government's efforts, but says illegal poaching persists.

"I don't like to make comparisons with other foreign countries in terms of tackling the problem of endangered species. What we have here is already good. But we need to further intensify our efforts," she says.

"I think, besides pursuing the preservation of the species, we need to improve our environmental policy system."

According to Ully, human and financial resources are the main obstacles in efforts to preserve the environment.

"We shouldn't rely only on foreign assistance. We have here many rich people. We only need to design programs and then persuade them to finance these programs."

Budi Nugroho, chairman of the nature lovers club of the University of Indonesia, claims that during his many travels he has never seen even one of the listed endangered species.

"I've never seen any of the endangered species, although I have visited many forests in Indonesia," he says.

"I noticed that the public are not so well informed about endangered species. I think disseminating information on them could help to facilitate the efforts aimed at protecting endangered animals."

Education is the key, he says.

"We need to educate our people on the importance of these species. Students should be given special attention as they will become our country's decision makers in the future. Can you imagine what will be the fate of the endangered species if our decision-makers don't even know about them?"

Rev. Bihelman Sidabutar, a religious figure of the Toba-Batak Protestant Church, expresses concern over the decreasing population of endangered species in Indonesia, despite its fame for its rich flora and fauna.

"I have nothing to do with any endangered species conservation," he says. "But as a citizen and religious worker I have the morality to encourage people, especially those of our church's community, to help Indonesians to preserve their flora and fauna and I am proud of this and enjoying its richness."

He says Indonesia has many unique species now on the brink of dying out. He listed the Sumatran and Javanese tigers, Sumatran and Javanese rhinoceros, Sumatran tapir and many beautiful birds, which are now either extinct or found only in zoos or nature preserves.

He says that in addition to improving the deployment of more conservationists and environmentalists to protect forests and observe endangered species, the government should conduct more aggressive nationwide campaigns. These could be done with the help of non-governmental organizations to improve public awareness of the problem of endangered species.

" The hunting of endangered species is mostly caused by the great demand on the national and international markets," he says.

He warns that populations of endangered species may continue to fall due to swelling human communities.

Many people have been forced to "explore" forest areas and protected forests to open up farming land because of the "shrinking land space" in rural and urban areas.

"In these cases, the church supports the forest squatters. Human life is more precious than animal life. We cannot sacrifice forest squatters' lifes at the price of endangered species conservation," he says.

Nursyabhani Katjasungkana, a lawyer and activist, agrees that the campaign to improve the public's awareness of endangered species should proceed, including enforcement of laws of natural resources conservation.

"The government should give more severe penalties against endangered species' hunters, and staff of the center for natural resources conservation should be given extra-pay to motivate them to carry out their tasks properly," she says.

Most of the center's staff were of low rank, "so it's not surprising if they someday hunt endangered species to sell them". (team)