Indonesia: Saving the Seram cockatoo from loggers and poachers
The Seram cockatoo (Cacatua moluccensis), an endemic bird species
found mainly on the islands of Seram, Haruku, Saparua and Ambon,
Maluku, is on the verge of extinction due to widespread poaching and
forest clearing, a conservationist says. In the 1990s there were more
than 1,000 Seram cockatoos in the wild on Seram island, but now this
number has dwindled to 400, and the bird is increasingly endangered on
the other three islands, Manusela National Park chief Supriyanto said.
“Besides poaching, the bird is threatened because of a loss of
habitat from forest clearing. It not only lives in national park areas
but also in farmland which were once forested,” he told The Jakarta
Post recently at his office in Masohi, Central Maluku.
Supriyatno said
it was difficult to differentiate between private land and national
parks in Seram because many forested areas were privately owned. “Many
farm owners have felled large trees to make way for cacao, nutmeg and
clove farms. The condition has had an adverse impact on the population
of the cockatoo, not to mention poaching,” he said. While it is
protected by the 1990 law on the conservation of natural resources and
ecosystems, the rare orange-crested cockatoo remains subject to
poaching for illegal trade. According to ProFauna Indonesia
conservation group, at least 1,000 Seram cockatoos were poached and
traded in Jakarta between December 2003 and May 2004. “The poaching
rate has dropped now because we have rebuilt three of the five
observation posts that were destroyed by fire in the Maluku riots. We
have also empowered local communities as rangers for the Wildlife
Rehabilitation Center (PRS) to reduce poaching in the area. “There
are still instances of poaching, but the frequency has declined,”
Supriyanto said. The 1990 law clearly stipulates that those involved
in the trade of protected wildlife, such as the Seram cockatoo, are
liable to a 5-year prison sentence and a Rp 100 million (US$9,132)
fine. “We at the national park, are committed to reducing the poaching
rate of this bird species,” Supriyanto said. To overcome the poaching
and forest clearing, Manusela National Park has developed an effective
strategy by involving traditional communities — who once hunt down
cockatoos and other wildlife for meat — as PRS rangers in and around
the park. http://cempaka-nature.blogspot.com/2008/12/forest-conversion-poaching-at-manusela.html