Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Archive

Vol. 4(1):60-87.

DOI: 10.1514/journal.arc.0040016 (2329KB PDF) PDF

Conservation of amphibians and reptiles in Indonesia: issues and problems

DJOKO T. ISKANDAR1 * AND WALTER R. ERDELEN2

1School of Life Sciences and Technology, Institut Teknologi Bandung, 10, Jalan Ganesa, Bandung 40132 INDONESIA 2Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences, UNESCO, 1, rue Miollis, 75732 Paris Cedex 15, FRANCE

Abstract.—Indonesia is an archipelagic nation comprising some 17,000 islands of varying sizes and geological origins, as well as marked differences in composition of their floras and faunas. Indonesia is considered one of the megadiversity centers, both in terms of species numbers as well as endemism. According to the Biodiversity Action Plan for Indonesia, 16% of all amphibian and reptile species occur in Indonesia, a total of over 1,100 species. New research activities, launched in the last few years, indicate that these figures may be significantly higher than generally assumed. Indonesia is suspected to host the worldwide highest numbers of amphibian and reptile species. Herpetological research in Indonesia, however, has not progressed at a rate comparable to that of neighboring countries. As a result, the ratio of Indonesian species to the entirety of Southeast Asian and Malesian species has “declined” from about 60% in 1930 to about 50% in 2000, essentially a result of more taxa having been described from areas outside Indonesia. Many of these taxa were subsequently also found in Indonesia. In the last 70 years, 762 new taxa have been described from the Southeast Asia region of which only 262 were from Indonesia. In general, the herpetofauna of Indonesia is poorly understood compared to the herpetofauna of neighboring countries. This refers not only to the taxonomic status, but also to the basic biological and ecological characteristics of most of the species. Moreover, geographic distribution patterns for many species are only poorly known. In view of the alarming rate of forest loss, measures for more effective protection of the herpetofauna of Indonesia are urgently required. The status of virtually all of the Indonesian species, e.g. in terms of IUCN categories, remains unknown, and no action plans have been formulated to date. In addition, research results on Indonesia’s amphibian and reptile fauna have often not been made available in the country itself. Finally, there is a clear need to organize research activities in such a way that a larger segment of the Indonesian population becomes aware of the importance of the herpetofauna as an essential component of the country’s biodiversity. To address these issues, this paper (1) gives an overview of the herpetofauna as part of Indonesia’s biodiversity, (2) outlines the history of herpetological research in the region, (3) identifies major gaps in our knowledge of the Indonesian herpetofauna, and (4) uses this framework for discussing issues and problems of the conservation of amphibians and reptiles in Indonesia. In particular, the contents and shortcomings of compilations of lists of protected or threatened species by national and international authorities are discussed, major threats to theIndonesian herpetofauna or certain components thereof are described, and a set of measures for better longterm conservation is proposed.

Abstrak.—Indonesia adalah suatu negara kepulauan yang terdiri dari sekitar 17.000 pulau dengan ukuran bervariasi dan mempunyai asal usul geologi yang kompleks seperti yang terlihat dalam komposisi tumbuhan dan hewannya. Indonesia, sebagai salah satu pusat keanekaragaman yang terbesar di dunia, baik dari segi kekayaan alam jenisnya maupun dari segi tingkat endemisitasnya. Menurut Biodiversity Action Plan for Indonesia, 16% dari amfibi dan reptil dunia terdapat di sini, dengan jumlah lebih dari 1100 jenis. Kegiatan penelitian yang dilaksanakan pada masa yang baru lalu menunjukkan bahwa jumlah tersebut di atas masih jauh di bawah keadaan yang sebenarnya. Indonesia mungkin sekali sebuah negara yang mempunyai jumlah amfibi dan reptil terbesar di dunia. Yang patut menjadi pertimbangan ialah bahwa penelitian amfibi dan reptil di Indonesia jauh lebih lambat di bandingkan dengan kemajuan di negara tetangga. Sebagai gambaran, jumlah jenis di Indonesia apabila dibandingkan dengan jumlah jenis di seluruh Asia Tenggara dalam kurun waktu 70 tahun telah merosot dari 60% menjadi 50%. Hal ini terjadi karena jumlah taksa baru kebanyakan ditemukan di luar Indonesia. Banyak diantara jenis-jenis tersebut kemudian ditemukan di Indonesia. Dalam 70 tahun terakhir, 762 jenis taksa dipertelakan dari luar Indonesia dan hanya 262 pertelaan dari Indonesia. Pada umumnya herpetofauna Indonesia tidak banyak dikenal, baik dari segi taksonomi, ciri-ciri biologi maupun ciri-ciri ekologinya. Daerah penyebaran suatu jenis sangat sedikit diketahui. Meninjau dari cepatnya penebangan dan pengalihan fungsi hutan, usaha untuk melindungi komponen biologi (dalam hal ini amfibi dan reptil) sangat diperlukan. Hampir semua status perlindungan baik secara nasional maupun dengan mengikuti kategori IUCN atau CITES tidak banyak diketahui atau dipahami. Kebanyakan informasi mengenai organisme Indonesia sulit diperoleh di dalam negeri. Sebagai akibat, maka diperlukan suatu mekanisme untuk mengatur kegiatan penelitian sedemikian rupa sehingga timbul kesadaran bahwa amfibi dan reptil merupakan salah satu komponen yang sangat berharga dari kekayaan keaneka-ragaman Indonesia. Makalahini memberikan (1) gambaran komponen biodiversitas herpetofauna Indonesia, (2) memaparkan sejarah perkembangan herpetologi di Indonesia, (3) mengidentifikasi kekosongan dalam pengetahuan herpetologi di Indonesia, (4) memaparkan masalah dan jalan keluar dalam konseravsi keanekaragaman herpetofauna Indonesia. Daftar herpetofauna Indonesia yang dilindungi undang-undang, CITES dan IUCN dibahas, hewanhewan yang mulai terancam dan kiat untuk melindunginya dibahas.

Key words. Conservation, biodiversity, current knowledge, Indonesia, Amphibia, Reptilia, IUCN

Citation: Iskandar, D. T. and Erdelen, W. R. 2006. Conservation of amphibians and reptiles in Indonesia: issues and problems. Amphib. Reptile Conserv. 4(1):60–87(e16).

Correspondence. * 1Tel/fax: ++62-22-250.0258, email: iskandar@sith.itb.ac.id 2Tel: +33 (0) 1 45 68 40 78, email: w.erdelen@unesco.org;

Copyright: © 2006 Anderson and Arruda. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.