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Shrinking habitat and greedy men endanger rare birds
Features - August 01, 2000
By Kafil Yamin
BANDUNG (JP): A good soldier knows what he is supposed to give as a
present to his commander when he returns from duty in the jungle. Not
fresh fruit or live fish, but a rare species of monkey, bird or deer.
The importance of a military officer can be seen from his private
collection of animals. A general holding a key position usually has a
vast collection of animals, including rare species. The more protected
species he has, the more strategic his position is, said Hapsoro, an
activist of Telapak Indonesia, which campaigns for the protection of
rare species in Indonesia.
Birds are becoming a popular gift as they remain one of the most
popular hobbies. The bird business is also bullish, with private
possession or trade of certain species being prohibited. Some
protected bird species can be found in the back gardens of generals
and other high-ranking officials.
Iwan Setiawan, a researcher with BirdLife, sees a big irony here. A
present is regarded as being special if it is an animal from a
protected species. He once saw the back yard of a general's house that
was full of birds, including endangered ones.
The general proudly said that an endangered bird was a present from
one of his subordinates who returned from Irian Jaya, others came from
Kalimantan and East Timor.
They are not aware that their hobby further threatens endangered
species, he grinned.
It is easier, then, to find rare species and other protected animals
in the mansions of rich people than in the wild. A Bandung-based
journalist, who once happened to come into a top official's home here
described the backyard as a "small zoo". You can find a range of
endangered animals from Javan tiger to Javan hawk-eagle, he said.
Under Law No. 5/1990 on Natural Preservation and Conservation, one
trading in or possessing protected animals are subject to five years
imprisonment and Rp100 million in fine.
Eagles highly imperiled
According to Iwan, the population of Javan tiger can be counted on
one's fingers now, while Javan hawk-eagles (Spizaetus bartelsi) number
some 300 individuals. Continuing pressures on the forests have dropped
its population significantly, he said.
The Javan eagle lives only in primary forests in Java. Now that
forests account for only 3 percent of Java's land, the bird's habitat
is increasingly threatened.
BirdLife estimates that the population of Javan-hawk eagles has
declined by 50 percent over the last five years.
Meanwhile, their area of distribution has been fragmented and
decreased to only 10 percent.
Java boasts 18 resident birds of prey. Habitat fragmentation and
hunting have put the survival of most, if not all these species at
risk. Surveys on 27 islands conducted between 1981 and 2000 shows
forest raptors survive in smaller patches.
Other endemic raptors on Java island are Crested Serpent-eagle
(Spilornis cheela], Black Eagle (Ictinaetus malayensis),
Rafous-bellied eagle (Hieraatus kienerii). Outside Java, the Sulawesi
hawk-eagle (Spizaetus lanceolatus) is going through a similar plight.
Deforestation resulting from forest conversion to palm oil plantations
and the enlargement of cacao plantations have become serious threats
to the declining population of Sulawesi eagles.
A recent study by the Indigenous Natural Conservation [YPAL] found 20
raptor species in South Sulawesi province with Brahminy Kite being the
most common species, followed by the Sulawesi Serpent eagle (Spilornis
rufipectus), Lesser Fish-eagle and Sulawesi hawk-eagle.
According to Iwan, the pivotal value of the Javan hawk-eagle and
Sulawesi hawk-eagle, both popularly called elang Jawa and elang
Sulawesi, rests on their nature as top predators.
As a top predator, the Javan eagle can by manage the size of its prey
population. So it serves as a sort of balancing power in nature, a
role that men cannot do, he said.
If peasants in villages, are incapable of controlling rats that affect
their paddy fields, they can rely on the eagle. It is their mistake
not to care about the eagle, Iwan added.
Indonesia is not alone in terms of forest degradation. Massive
industrialization in other Asian countries steps up pressures on
natural forests and therefore causes continuing decline of raptor
populations in this archipelago.
The dwindling population of Asian raptors was discussed in a seminar
here from June 25 through June 27. Experts from Asia, Europe, Middle
East and the U.S. discussed ways to save the animals.
The Second Symposium of Asian Raptor Research and Conservation [ARRC]
recommended, among others, collaboration with governments and local
communities to prevent and minimize habitat loss, compilation of local
knowledge on raptors, and encouraging studies on raptor adaptation on
the changing environment.
Geographically, Indonesia is crucial to the existence of raptors since
it is one of the migration sites from the North during the autumn.
Periodically, raptors migrate from the North to Southeast Asia and
return to the north in the spring.
The Javan hawk-eagle is better known as burung Garuda, which has
become the mascot of Indonesian unity in diversity. Their population
is now on the decline.