Wildlife trafficking is thought to be the third largest illegal trade after drugs and weapons. As a global hotspot for this illicit trade, Indonesia is not only a source country for the rapidly growing international market, but it is also home to a huge domestic market, especially for songbirds. In recent years, the volume in trafficking has risen dramatically and for many of the archipelago’s endangered species, poaching is now as big a threat as habitat loss. Why has wildlife trafficking reached such enormous proportions in Indonesia? Who and what are the main drivers of the trade? And what initiatives exist to combat wildlife trafficking and enhance conservation efforts?
In this week’s Talking Indonesia podcast, Dr Dirk Tomsa discusses these issues with Eleanor Paish, a zoologist and filmmaker from the University of West England, and Adam Miller, executive director and founder of Planet Indonesia, an organisation that works on conservation issues in Indonesia.
In 2017, the Talking Indonesia podcast is co-hosted by Dr Dirk Tomsa from La Trobe University, Dr Dave McRae from the University of Melbourne’s Asia Institute, Dr Jemma Purdey from Monash University, and Dr Charlotte Setijadi from the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.
Look out for a new Talking Indonesia podcast every fortnight. Catch up on previous episodes here, subscribe via iTunes or listen via your favourite podcasting app.
Photo by Eleanor Paish
