Indonesian Bird Could Face New Threat from Capital City Development
2023-12-15
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1An endangered bird in Indonesia could face new threats from development linked to the country's new capital city.
2The bird is the maleo, a tall animal with black feathers and a pink chest.
3It is native to Indonesia's Sulawesi island and a few neighboring ones.
4The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) considers the maleo to be "critically endangered."
5The environmental group's Red List identifies wildlife across the world currently facing threats.
6The IUCN estimates only 8,000 to 14,000 adult maleos remain in the wild.
7West Sulawesi has been set up as a "support" area for building activities.
8The Indonesian government plans to move the nation's capital from Jakarta to a new city on Borneo island.
9West Sulawesi and Borneo are separated by an ocean passageway called the Makassar Strait and are just a six-hour boat trip apart.
10Support work will take place in areas around West Sulawesi's capital, Mamuju.
11The development is expected to include the building of new roads and seaports to be used to transport materials to the new capital, named Nusantara, on Borneo.
12Activities include tree clearing, digging, and removing stones.
13The process already has changed the forest environment on West Sulawesi and is harming maleo nesting areas near the beach.
14These latest changes follow others to the birds' general environment, or habitat, linked to human activities in the area.
15These changes have made the trip for maleos to lay their eggs increasingly more difficult.
16The maleo is considered "critically endangered because the next step is extinction," said biologist Marcy Summers.
17She directs the Alliance for Tompotika Conservation, a non-governmental organization working to support maleo conservation in the area.
18Summers noted that maleo populations had decreased by more than 80 percent since 1980.
19Experts do not know how many maleos still live around Mamuju or across West Sulawesi island.
20The West Sulawesi Forestry Agency was only able to record the presence of nesting grounds in 23 villages based on reports from locals in the area.
21But of those, only 18 are considered active nesting areas.
22"As far as I know, maleo birds are in decline," said Andi Aco Takdir, chief of the West Sulawesi Forestry Agency.
23He pointed to several reasons for the decline, including destruction of beach areas, and expanding human development activities.
24Takdir said the government has been warning people in the area to stop establishing palm oil operations and to halt all other development around maleo nesting grounds.
25Officials said the government is committed to keeping the birds even with massive development to support the new capital city.
26Another problem has been thieves, also called poachers.
27The Associated Press reports that poachers steal maleo eggs from the sand where their parents have hidden them.
28Poachers sell the eggs for about $1 to people as food.
29The eggs are a traditional gift for many people in Mamuju and other parts of Sulawesi.
30Muhammad Idris is a local official in West Sulawesi.
31He told the AP that government officials there are prepared to take steps to protect the maleos even with the new capital development.
32Idris said, "Nature conservation must be used as an achievement and (projects) must not be built leaving behind problems."
33I'm Bryan Lynn.
1An endangered bird in Indonesia could face new threats from development linked to the country's new capital city. 2The bird is the maleo, a tall animal with black feathers and a pink chest. It is native to Indonesia's Sulawesi island and a few neighboring ones. 3The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) considers the maleo to be "critically endangered." The environmental group's Red List identifies wildlife across the world currently facing threats. The IUCN estimates only 8,000 to 14,000 adult maleos remain in the wild. 4West Sulawesi has been set up as a "support" area for building activities. The Indonesian government plans to move the nation's capital from Jakarta to a new city on Borneo island. West Sulawesi and Borneo are separated by an ocean passageway called the Makassar Strait and are just a six-hour boat trip apart. 5Support work will take place in areas around West Sulawesi's capital, Mamuju. The development is expected to include the building of new roads and seaports to be used to transport materials to the new capital, named Nusantara, on Borneo. 6Activities include tree clearing, digging, and removing stones. The process already has changed the forest environment on West Sulawesi and is harming maleo nesting areas near the beach. 7These latest changes follow others to the birds' general environment, or habitat, linked to human activities in the area. These changes have made the trip for maleos to lay their eggs increasingly more difficult. 8The maleo is considered "critically endangered because the next step is extinction," said biologist Marcy Summers. She directs the Alliance for Tompotika Conservation, a non-governmental organization working to support maleo conservation in the area. Summers noted that maleo populations had decreased by more than 80 percent since 1980. 9Experts do not know how many maleos still live around Mamuju or across West Sulawesi island. The West Sulawesi Forestry Agency was only able to record the presence of nesting grounds in 23 villages based on reports from locals in the area. But of those, only 18 are considered active nesting areas. 10"As far as I know, maleo birds are in decline," said Andi Aco Takdir, chief of the West Sulawesi Forestry Agency. He pointed to several reasons for the decline, including destruction of beach areas, and expanding human development activities. 11Takdir said the government has been warning people in the area to stop establishing palm oil operations and to halt all other development around maleo nesting grounds. 12Officials said the government is committed to keeping the birds even with massive development to support the new capital city. 13Another problem has been thieves, also called poachers. The Associated Press reports that poachers steal maleo eggs from the sand where their parents have hidden them. 14Poachers sell the eggs for about $1 to people as food. The eggs are a traditional gift for many people in Mamuju and other parts of Sulawesi. 15Muhammad Idris is a local official in West Sulawesi. He told the AP that government officials there are prepared to take steps to protect the maleos even with the new capital development. 16Idris said, "Nature conservation must be used as an achievement and (projects) must not be built leaving behind problems." 17I'm Bryan Lynn. 18The Associated Press reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. 19_________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21nest - v. a home built by birds for their eggs and by some other creatures to live in 22extinct - adj. no longer existing on Earth 23conservation - n. an organized effort that aims to protect animals, and natural resources 24decline - v. to go down in amount, importance, quality, etc. 25achievement - n. something good that you achieve: to succeed in doing something good, usually by working hard