The issuance of the Minister of Environment and Forestry (MEoF) Regulation No. P.20 of 2018 regarding Protected Plant and Animal species caused turmoil among the organizers and participants of the songbird competition, providers of feed and bird cages, breeders, songbird owners and hobbyists. They demanded that the Ministry of Environment and Forestry revoke or revise the regulation and remove three types of songbirds namely White-rumped Shama, Straw-headed Bulbul and Javan-pied Starling. The government accommodated this demand by issuing the Ministerial Regulation No. P.92/2018 on 20 September 2018.
In the regulation, not only three bird species were removed from the protection status, but also two "innocent" species namely the Little Shrike-thrush and the Sangihe Whistler, an endemic species of Sangihe Island that is Critically Endangered. Sangihe Whistler can only be found in the Sahendaruman Mountains with an estimated population of 92-255 individuals, based on a survey conducted by Burung Indonesia in 2009.
This regulation does not specifically regulate the protection of birds, but also various types of animals and plants that should be protected, based on clear scientific studies. After the issuance of the regulation, it is not impossible that the pressure to remove various types of animals and plants from the protected list will be escalating, a threat to Indonesia's biodiversity.
In this regard, we are the Forum for Indonesian Bird Conservation (FIBC), which consists of 150 organizations/institutions and 44 individuals throughout Indonesia, DECLARING DISAPPOINTMENT, CONCERNS, OBJECTIONS, AND STRONG PROTEST to Mrs. Siti Nurbaya as Minister of Environment and Forestry regarding the revision of the MEoF Regulation No. P.20/2018 without the support of adequate scientific studies and being controversial. The joint statement of the FIBC and its member list are attached.
More details can be downloaded at the following links:
Joint Statement of the Forum for Indonesian Bird Conservation
Minister of Environment and Forestry Regulation No. P.92/2018