As the popular Indonesian saying goes
“A man is considered to be a real man if he has a house, a wife, a horse, a keris (dagger), and a bird.”
Birds are the most common pet in Indonesia. Many of these birds are taken directly from the wild and enter into the illegal pet trade. This has led to dramatic declines in Indonesian bird populations, which is now recognised as a global conservation crisis.
There is an urgent need to assist with the survival of Simeulue’s endemic and threatened bird species. Simeulue is home to two endemic bird species and 26 endemic subspecies, most of which are threatened. Two endemic subspecies are now on the brink of extinction.
Our Approach:
To work with local and regional government and Simeulue communities to develop a protection plan for the priority forest areas. Using existing research, gain species recognition and increase conservation status for Simeulue Hill Myna and Barusan Shama.
Because Simeulue Hill Myna and Barusan Shama are classed as extinct in the wild, we have developed a conservation breeding programme to reestablish wild populations. Using the birds bred in the breeding project, we are now reintroducing and repopulating islands which are protected by community ranger projects.
As EcosystemImpact embarks on our breeding programme, we are very conscious of their controversy. The idea of putting birds in cages to solve the problem of birds in cages sounds like a contradiction! Breeding and reintroduction programmes are unfortunately a necessary last resort.
A bird education conservation programme for Simeulue schools will run aside this breeding programme.
Funding support from this project comes from Mandai Nature, ZGAP, Marlow Bird Park and Copenhagen Zoo.
