{"id":115614,"date":"2023-12-05T11:16:37","date_gmt":"2023-12-05T11:16:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chinadialogue.net\/?p=115614"},"modified":"2023-12-19T11:14:46","modified_gmt":"2023-12-19T11:14:46","slug":"calls-grow-for-stricter-law-on-wildlife-trafficking-in-indonesia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/nature\/calls-grow-for-stricter-law-on-wildlife-trafficking-in-indonesia\/","title":{"rendered":"Calls grow for stricter law on wildlife trafficking in Indonesia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Smoking pipes carved from elephant ivory, multi-coloured cockatoos, and an Australian frilled lizard: these are just some examples of wildlife and their products offered for sale online, illegally, in Indonesia. They were among 996 adverts, posted by 421 social media accounts, logged in a survey<\/a> conducted by Indonesia\u2019s environment ministry and NGO the Wildlife Conservation Society between April 2021 and March 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parrots were the most frequently listed live animal, with 20 different species documented in the survey, while elephant ivory was the most recorded body part, representing 56% of all adverts logged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is an indication of an increase [in online wildlife trafficking] during Covid-19,\u201d Krismanko Padang, one of the survey authors, tells China Dialogue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In January 2023, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry stated in a press release<\/a> that in 2022 it had found 638 social media accounts selling protected wild animals. A total of 1,163 protected animals were being offered for sale on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, as well as major e-commerce sites such as Tokopedia and Kaskus, the ministry stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Padang says that platforms generally respond to reports of illegal wildlife trade online by immediately taking down the offending account. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut this is not effective because if one account is closed down, they can just set up another 10 new accounts,\u201d notes Dwi Adhiasto, an independent consultant and expert in wildlife trafficking based in Bogor, West Java. Instead, he says, stricter punishment that is written into the law is necessary to tackle online wildlife trafficking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Revising Indonesia\u2019s wildlife law<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Indonesia\u2019s House of Representatives is currently discussing a revision of the Law on Conservation of Living Natural Resources and their Ecosystems<\/a>. This law, which came into force in 1990, prohibits trade in protected wildlife, and is still the legal basis for indicting wildlife traffickers, including those operating online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between 2007 and 2008, the then-Forestry Department (now known as the Ministry of Environment and Forestry) initiated a public consultation on updating the 1990 law. The conversation was only resumed in 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In 2017, the lawmakers in the House of Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat, or DPR) released a bill on amendments to the law for discussion with the government. It aims to strengthen law enforcement, improve management and funding for conservation, and acknowledge Indigenous peoples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based on a draft wording of the law obtained by China Dialogue in April, some of the changes lawmakers proposed include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n