Habitat Loss and Wildlife in Indonesia

Charles Robinson

Geo 320

Habitat loss and wildlife in Indonesia

Indonesia is located in Southeastern Asia, and is almost three times the size of Texas. Indonesia is an archipelago between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Indonesia contains one of the world's most remarkable geographical boundaries in its distribution of animals. This dates back to the glacial period when sea level fell all over the world. During this period the islands of Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan and Bali on the Sunda Shelf were joined together with one another and with the Asian mainland, but Irian Jaya, Aru and the Australian continent of the Sahul Shelf were separated. This early geographical separation explains why the tropical animal species of Java, Sumatra, and Kalimantan do not exist in Irian Jaya. For the same reason, the kangaroo of Irian Jaya is missing in the other region. (Indonesia)

Maluku, Sulawesi, and the Lesser Sunda Islands, which lie between the Sunda and Sahul shelves, have a strikingly different fauna. Most of the eastern fauna do not exist in Sulawesi even though this island is close to Kalimantan, being just across the Makassar Strait. Similarly, the animal species of Irian Jaya are not found on Seram and Halmahera, Irian Jaya's closest neighbors. The future is even bleaker for the orangutans of Southeast Asia the report indicates that within 30 years there will be almost no habitat left that can be considered "relatively undisturbed." (Wildlife)

The findings announced today at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg have come from a study by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), which is coordinating the Great Apes Survival Project partnership (GRASP), and scientists from Norway and the United States. GRASP is a partnership of UN agencies, ape range and donor states, convention secretariats and conservation non-governmental organizations (NGOs) committed to halting the rapid decline of all the great ape species. Primatologist and National Geographic Explorer in Residence Jane Goodall is a "special ape envoy" to GRASP.

The study looked in detail at each of the four great ape species chimpanzee, bonobo, gorilla, and orangutan to assess the current, remaining, habitat deemed relatively undisturbed and thus able to support viable populations of apes. Experts then mapped the likely impact and area of healthy habitat left in 2030 at current levels of infrastructure growth. (Indonesia)

The findings are based on a new method of evaluating the wider impacts of infrastructure development on key species. While most studies focus on the actual area of land taken by a new road, mining camp, or infrastructure development, the GLOBIO method (Global Methodology for Mapping Human Impacts on the Biosphere) also factors in the wider impacts such as habitat fragmentation and noise disturbance. "This report suggests the possible fate of the great apes and their habitats," said Klaus Toepfer, executive director of UNEP. "Roads are being built in the few remaining pristine forests of Africa and Southeast Asia to extract timber, minerals, and oil. Uncontrolled road construction in these areas is fragmenting and destroying the great apes' last homes and making it easier for poachers to slaughter them for meat and their young more vulnerable to capture for the illegal pet trade." (Habitat)

Wild Sumatran tigers have survived within the isolated and somewhat continuous political environment of the Island of Sumatra. This has afforded researchers, such as The Sumatran Tiger Project team, an opportunity to study these animals' genetic status in their natural habitat over an extended period of time. As a result, important first-hand field data has been generated which is relevant to all the surviving tiger subspecies.

Sumatran tigers are especially well represented in zoos around the world, most of which participate in sophisticated global conservation breeding programs. More than 270 Sumatran tigers are now documented in