"Indonesia is a country hosting a very diverse bird population. Of the world`s 10,000 bird species, 1,594 are to be found in Indonesia, making it the world`s fifth richest country in terms of fowl possession," Ria Saryanthi, conservation program manager of BirdLife Indonesia. said in a press statement here Tuesday.
Of Indonesia`s 112 endangered bird species, 18 were in critical condition, 31 endangered, and 73 others prone, he said.
Most of the threatened bird species in Indonesia live in their habitats. They are being threatened because of hunting, illegal trade and pressures on their habitat due to illegal logging and forest area conversions, she said.
"Human activities which have converted forests into agricultural areas, plantations and infrastructure development for industry, have caused the bird habitats to shrink," she said.
Wood pigeon (Columba sp.), uncal (Macropygia sp.), delimukan (Chalcopaps sp. and Gallicolumba sp. ), pergam (Ducula sp.), and walik (Ptilinopus sp.) are pigeon families which are highly depending on their forest habitat.
"It is no surprise that of the total of 112 threatened bird species, 12 are from the Collumbidae families," he said.
The increase in human population, economic development policies have also affected the wildlife and ecosystem, she said, adding that the press release was issued on the occasion of the commemoration of One Million Tree Day on January 10.
(Uu,F001/HAJM/P003)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
