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Non-Government Bird Protection Organisations (NGOs) from 5 major islands in
Indonesia including Java, Sumatra, Bali, Papua, and Maluku on Friday (17th
of June 2016) sent a joint letter to the Indonesian Minister of Environment and
Forestry to insist the government immediately stops the illegal wild bird trade in
Indonesia.
In the letter, the NGOs expressed their concern about the uncontrolled capture, trafficking, and trade of birds in all over Indonesia.
Some of the
coalition members, who jointly signed the letters, have monitored wildlife
markets in Indonesia and found that the majority of birds brought to bird
markets in major cities, were not covered with transportation permit
(SATS-DN). According to the Minister
Regulation No. 447 / kpts-II/2003 concerning
administration directive of harvest or capture and distribution of the
specimens of wild plant and animal species (Article 61) that “All and any
activities of domestic commercial distribution shall be covered by Permit for
Domestic Transport of Wild Plants and Animals (SATS-DN).”
If no immediate
action is taken by the government, the coalition of NGOs is very worrying that
all Indonesian birds will disappear from the wild. Therefore, the coalition
asked the Minister of Environment and Forestry to control the capture, traffic
and trade of wild birds in Indonesia.
A signatory of
the letter who is a recipient of Goldman
Environmental Prize 2014, Rudi Putra (from the Forum for Leuser
Conservation/FKL) stated: “Law
enforcement is seriously needed to prevent disappearing of wild birds in the
Leuser Ecosystem, Sumatra. The illegal bird hunting in this ecosystem is now in
an alarming condition.”
“The forest needs birds to disperse plant seeds. The
wild birds are so important in the ecosystem. I ask the government stop all
illegal hunting, illegal trading and illegal trafficking of wild birds,“ he added.
Another
signatory, the Chief Executive Officer
of FNPF (Friends of the National Parks Foundation) in Bali, DVM I. Gede Nyoman
Bayu Wirayudha said: “Although we
have not counted it yet, but the number of wild bird shops in Bali is
increasing from year to year, for eg in a small sub-village where we work,
Banjar Intara, there was 1 wild bird shop last year, and this year there are 3 shops.
The increasing number of birds shop will attract more attention to buy wild
birds.”
Another
signatory, Chairman of Rimba Satwa
Foundation, Zulhusni Syukri stated: “Illegal
hunting in Riau province, Sumatra, is now in a worrying condition. Every time I
enter forest area in this province, I find illegal bird hunters while the
government natural resources conservation agency (BKSDA) officers are not in
the forest all the time.”
“From my observation in visiting wildlife markets in
various cities in Sumatra such as in the provinces of Riau, West Sumatra, South
Sumatra, Jambi, the wild bird markets are also function as the centres for
trading of protected animals. You don’t see the animals on display but you can
order protected animals to buy in the bird shops,” Zulhusni added.
Chairman of RAPTOR INDONESIA, Asman Adi Purwanto said: “Illegal bird trade in the provinces of
Yogyakarta and Central Java are really rampant. The birds in these two
provinces come from Sumatra, Borneo, Bali, Maluku, and Sulawesi without
transportation permits. Protected birds such as River
kingfishers and Sunbirds
are commonly found in these two provinces.”
Director of Scorpion Foundation, Gunung Gea, who also co-signed
the letter, stated: “The Ministry of
Environment and Forestry should seriously enforce its own regulation no.
447/2003 by strictly ensure all domestic commercial distributions are covered by Permits (SATS-DN).”
The
members of the coalition consist of: 1)Yayasan Scorpion Indonesia (Bogor),
2)Yayasan Satucita Lestari Indonesia (Langsa, Aceh Timur), 3) Sekretariat Kerjasama
Pelestarian Hutan Indonesia/SKEPHI (Jakarta), 4)Konsorsium Pelestarian Hutan
Indonesia/KONPHALINDHO (Jakarta), 5) Papua
Bird Club (Papua), 6).Friends of the National Parks Foundation/FNPF (Pulau
Bali), 7)Indonesian Species Conservation Programme/ISCP (Deli Serdang), 8)Sumatra
Rainforest Institute/SRI (Medan), 9)Lembaga Rakyat Marginal (L-eRM) (Banda
Aceh), 10).Sekoci Indoratu (Aceh Barat Daya), 11) Rimba Satwa Foundation (Duri, Riau), 12)Raptor Indonesia,
13)Pusat Rehabilitasi Satwa Seram (Seram), 14)Yayasan Inisiatif Membangun
(Banda Aceh), 15)Kelompok Pengamat Burung “Spirit of South Sumatra” (Palembang),
16).Paguyuban Pengamat Burung Jogja (Yogyakarta), 17)Begawan Foundation, dan 18)KPB
“Perenjak” Himakova , 19)Forum
Konservasi Leuser (Langsa, Aceh Timur), 20)Indonesian Friends of the Animals/IFOTA
(Jakarta), 21)Yayasan Orangutan Sumatera Lestari – OIC, 22)Hutan Alam dan
Lingkungan Aceh (HAKA), 23) Forum Orangutan Aceh (FORA), dan Pesona Tropis Alam
Indonesia (PETAI).
