13
Feb 2008 - Laws protecting the critically
endangered Sumatran Tiger have failed to
prevent tiger body parts being offered on
open sale in Indonesia, according to a new
TRAFFIC report.
Tiger body parts, including
canine teeth, claws, skin pieces, whiskers
and bones, were on sale in 10 percent of
the 326 retail outlets surveyed during 2006
in 28 cities and towns across Sumatra. Outlets
included goldsmiths, souvenir and traditional
Chinese medicine shops, and shops selling
antique and precious stones.
The survey conservatively
estimates that 23 tigers were killed to
supply the products seen, based on the number
of canine teeth on sale.
“This is down from an
estimate of 52 killed per year in 1999–2000”,
said Julia Ng, Programme Officer with TRAFFIC
Southeast Asia and lead author on The Tiger
Trade Revisited in Sumatra, Indonesia. “Sadly,
the decline in availability appears to be
due to the dwindling number of tigers left
in the wild”.
All of TRAFFIC’s surveys
have indicated that Medan, the capital of
North Sumatra province, and Pancur Batu,
a smaller town situated about 15 km away,
are the main hubs for the trade of tiger
parts.
In conducting the surveys,
TRAFFIC has provided authorities with details
of traders involved, but no discernible
serious enforcement action was ever taken.
“Successive surveys
continue to show that Sumatran tigers are
being sold body part by body part into extinction”,
said Dr Susan Lieberman, Director of WWF
International’s Species Programme.
“This is an enforcement
crisis. If Indonesian authorities need enforcement
help from the international community they
should ask for it. If not, they should demonstrate
they are taking enforcement seriously”.
The report recommends
that resources and effort should concentrate
on effective enforcement to combat the trade
by arresting dealers and suppliers. Trade
hotspots should be continually monitored
and all intelligence be passed to the enforcement
authorities for action. Those found guilty
of trading in tigers and other protected
wildlife should be prosecuted to the full
extent of the law.
Dr Tonny Soehartono,
Director for Biodiversity Conservation,
Ministry of Forestry of Republic of Indonesia,
said: “We have to deal with the trade. Currently
we are facing many other crucial problems
which, unfortunately, are causing the decline
of Sumatran tiger populations.”
“We have been struggling
with the issues of land use changes, habitat
fragmentation, human–tiger conflicts and
poverty in Sumatra. Land use changes and
habitat fragmentation are driving the tiger
closer to humans and thus creating human–tiger
conflicts”.
As a recent show of commitment, the President
of the Republic of Indonesia launched the
Conservation Strategy and Action Plan of
Sumatran Tiger 2007–2017 during the 2007
Climate Change Convention in Bali.
Sumatra's remaining
few tigers are also under threat from rampant
deforestation by the pulp and paper and
palm oil industries. The combined threats
of habitat loss and illegal trade—unless
tackled immediately—will be the death knell
for Indonesian tigers.
“The Sumatran tiger is already listed as
Critically Endangered on IUCN’s Red List
of Threatened Species, the highest category
of threat before extinction in the wild,”
said Jane Smart, Head of IUCN’s Species
Programme. “We cannot afford to lose any
more of these magnificent creatures”.
“The Sumatran tiger
population is estimated to be fewer than
400 to 500 individuals. It doesn’t take
a mathematician to work out that the Sumatran
Tiger will disappear like the Javan and
Bali tigers if the poaching and trade continues”
Julia Ng adds.
As Indonesia currently
chairs the ASEAN-Wildlife Enforcement Network,
TRAFFIC National Co-ordinator Dr Ani Mardiastuti
suggested the country “demonstrate leadership
to other ASEAN countries by taking action
against illegal trade, including in tiger
parts.”
