resources capital stocks is one of the world's richest centers of biological diversity.  Indonesia is 

one of the top two  mega biodiversity  countries in the world.  For a country that represents only 

1.3% of the planet's land surface, Indonesia has a very high proportion of the world's 

biodiversity (Table 3.1).  However, knowledge of the extent and potentials of this diversity is 

insufficient.  Effective biological diversity protection is also insufficient, and many species and 

ecosystems will become threatened and then lost along with opportunities to discover their full 

value and utility. 

Table 3.1  Species Richness of Globally Mega biodiverse Countries 

Country

Mammals

Birds

Amphibians

Reptiles

Butterflies

Angiosperms

Indonesia

515

1,519

270

600

121

20,000

Brazil

428

1,622

516

467

74

55,000

Colombia

359

1,721

407

383

59

45,000

Mexico 

449

1,010

282

717

52

25,000

Zaire

409

1,086

216

280

48

10,000

Tanzania

 310

969

127

244

34

10,000

Source:  KEHATI, 1995. 

Indonesia is rapidly exhausting its natural resources base.  Rapid development has helped to 

reduce poverty and provide new employment opportunities, at least in the short term; however, 

current resources use trends are unsustainable.  The development process is eroding the 

biological resources and ecological support functions needed to sustain development.  

Development activities must balance goals of today with those of tomorrow.  One way to 

conserve biodiversity and maintain ecological functions for continued economic growth and 

social development is through effective management of a protected system of conservation 

areas.  While it is often difficult to determine the required size and coverage of the country's 

conservation area system, it must be large enough to protect viable representations of major 

ecosystems and their component floral and faunal communities.  A range of ecological systems 

could thus be supported and allow for the prerequisite conditions of sustainable development.   

Although Indonesia has designated a large area for conservation and protection, the 

conservation area system is under continual threat.  A number of indicators suggest that 

irreversible losses are increasing.  If effective protection is not improved, extinctions will 

increase along with irreversible losses from supportive ecological functions.  Indonesia is among 

the top five countries with the most threatened mammals, and heads the list for threatened birds 

(IUCN 1996).  The fate of bird species has drawn much attention as good indicators of biological 

diversity and ecosystem health.  The large number of threatened bird species in Indonesia 

highlights the changes associated with the habitats on which these species depend.  Likewise, 

only 29 percent of Indonesia's coral reefs are in good condition, with many areas reportedly 

pristine 20 years ago now laying as dead rubble (Caesar 1996).   By example, the fate of birds 

and coral reefs should be of major concern as clear indicators of ecosystem health and the 

inefficiency of natural resources utilization in Indonesia. 

Biodiversity conservation in Indonesia is often considered to mean strict preservation and is 

thus often perceived as antithetical and opposed to economic development.  Economic 

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