Arti Ekawati

The post office, in cooperation with the Ministry of Forestry and a conservation group, released a series of six stamps on Wednesday that depict endangered Sumatran birds. (Photo: Jurnasyanto Sukarno, JG)

On the Wings of a Stamp, Endangered Sumatran Birds Take Flight

Endangered Sumatran birds will be taking flight — at least on paper — around the country and the world following Wednesday’s release by the post office of a series of six bird stamps.

The Ministry of Forestry and the Indonesian Bird Conservators Council also are involved in the project, which depicts the Sundan Wrinkled Hornbill, Rufous-collared Kingfisher, Great Argus and three other imperiled birds.

Minister of Forestry MS Kaban said the stamps were a cooperative attempt to make “people more aware of our biodiversity, including birds, and protecting them.”

The stamps each have a face value of Rp 2,500 (25 cents) and the post office is issuing an initial 300,000 pieces.

Kaban said Sumatran birds were chosen because the island was home to more than 600 of the country’s 1,539 known bird species. Of 9,052 known bird species around the globe, 17 percent have Indonesian addresses, the ministry said.

Ani Mardiastuti, the chairwoman of the Indonesian Bird Conservators Council, said there were 117 endangered bird species across the country.

Ani said that political will was needed from both local and central governments to maintain sustainable bird habitats.

“Mostly the political will from local administrations is needed to raise awareness not to hunt endangered bird species,” Ani said in an interview after the launch of the stamps.

As an example, she cited the case of local residents collecting and selling the eggs of the endangered Maleo bird in Sulawesi. The egg is considered a local delicacy.

The activity could endanger the Maleo population by depleting the supply of eggs and thus putting the future of the species in harm’s way, Ani said.

“However, when we told them to stop hunting Maleo eggs, the local people said they could not do that because the egg trade is their livelihood,” she said. “Therefore, we need to work side by side with local governments to raise awareness about the need to protect the birds living in their areas.”

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