FMIPA UI Biology Expert: Harness the Potential of Biodiversity to Boost the Economy

All stakeholders in Indonesia are urged to collaborate in optimizing the vast potential of biodiversity as a driver of the economy, community welfare, and as a key asset for strengthening conservation efforts.

This was conveyed by Professor of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Indonesia (FMIPA UI) Prof. Dr. Jatna Supriatna, M.Sc. when giving a solo lecture, Widjojo Nitisastro Memorial Lecture (WMNL) 2022, which is part of a series of events to commemorate the 32nd Anniversary of the Indonesian Academy of Sciences (AIPI) at the Auditorium of the National Library of Indonesia, Jakarta, Thursday, October 13, 2022.

In the event officially opened by the 11th Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia, Professor Boediono, he said that there are an estimated 300 thousand types of wild animals in Indonesia, reaching 17% of all animals in the world. In fact, Indonesia's area is only 1.3% of the world's area.

Indonesia's wildlife is also highly unique because it originates from both the Asian and Australian continents, as well as a transitional zone between the two, resulting in a region known as Wallacea, where the fauna is a mix of both.

“This is a blessing that must be managed and utilized,” said Prof. Jatna, as quoted from https://forestinsights.id/.

One of the ways to do this is by developing biodiversity-based ecotourism.

This has already been implemented in several locations. For example, wildlife tourism to observe orangutans in their natural habitat can be found in Tanjung Puting National Park, Gunung Palung National Park, Leuser National Park, and even in community-managed areas such as Tangkahan in North Sumatra.

Each tourist is required to pay a fee of around 60–100 US dollars per day of visit, with tour package costs reaching up to 2,500 US dollars per visit, including amenities, transportation, and accommodation.

“Keanekaragaman hayati seharusnya jangan dilihat sebagai penghalang tapi sebagai opportunitas, Di Rwanda, tarif melihat gorila mencapai 120 dolar AS sementara di Malaysia tarif melihat orangutan  juga di atas 100 dolar AS,” kata Prof. Jatna.

“Indonesia must also be able to take advantage of this, as we have the third highest number of primate species in the world, in addition to having three species of orangutans,” said Prof. Jatna, whose name has been immortalized in one of the primate species, Tarsius supriatnai, found in Gorontalo Province.

According to him, by utilizing the potential of biodiversity, the economy will grow, and more funding will be available for forest preservation and biodiversity conservation.

He invited biologists in Indonesia to collaborate with economics experts in exploring opportunities to utilize biodiversity for the economy in support of sustainability.

He warned that if the sustainability of biodiversity is disrupted, the stability and balance of ecosystems will be shaken, which could have harmful impacts on humans.

Prof. Jatna gave an example of the increasing consumption of fruit bats (kalong) in Sulawesi. In the past, the supply of fruit bats came only from North Sulawesi, but now they have to be sourced from across the entire Sulawesi mainland.

“Yet fruit bats are known to be good hosts for zoonotic diseases, including COVID,” he added.

News source : https://sci.ui.ac.id/