What they say about endangered species

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)