White cockatoo population dwindling

Indra Harsaputra The Jakarta Post/Surabaya

The population of White Cockatoo (Cacatua alba) in North Maluku is dwindling due to uncontrolled poaching. More than 500 of them are traded in Jakarta and other places annually, say an environmental group.

Chairman of Pro Fauna Indonesia Rosek Nursahid, in a press release made available to The Jakarta Post on Thursday said the organization had arrived at the figure after conducting research on the bird species in North Maluku over the past four years.

Rosek said that the Directorate General of Forest and Nature Preservation of the Ministry of Forestry had issued a zero quota on the capture of the species in the province in 2001.

However, in the same year after the quota was issued, there were at least 138 White Cockatoos shipped to Ternate, the province's capital, to be sold.

Nearly 96 percent of the them arrived through Bastiong port and the remainder through Kota Baru and Dufa-Dufa ports. An average of 552 cockatoos are caught and traded illegally every year.

Most of the cockatoos are poached on Halmahera island, especially in the Oba, Weda, Payahe areas, as well as on other islands including Bacan, Mandioli and Obi.

The poaching was authorized by the local government conservation agency, by issuing poachers with permits despite the zero quota on the capture of the cockatoo by the forestry ministry during that time, said Rosek.

The birds were reportedly sold to brokers in Ternate for Rp 60,000 (US$6.6) each.