Cockatoos rapidly decline in the wild mainly due to local poaching for the pet trade. We produced a documentary focusing on the local parrot trade and showing success stories of alternative livelihoods to poaching birds. In this project, we would like to share the film with 10 selected local villages in Eastern Indonesia, which are the most involved in harvesting wild parrots, and start discussions with the communities about the most fitting sustainable solutions for the future.
The biological diversity of our planet is rapidly being depleted due to direct and indirect consequences of human activities. Southeast Asia is both a major hotspot for biodiversity and the epicentre for illegal wildlife trade world-wide. Parrots are among the most sought-after birds in this trade. Our scientific evaluation identified Indonesia as the #1 priority country for parrot conservation in the world, due to its parrot diversity, endemism and threats mainly by the illicit parrot trade.
In this campaign we would organise screenings of our documentary about the parrot trade with a portable projector in schools and community centers of villages considered as parrot trade hotspots. We would also measure the impact of our film on the villagers and evaluate possible activities that could replace harvesting wild parrots for the illicit trade. Our ultimate aim is to induce behavioural change in local people in the most affected regions in Indonesia.
There is an important momentum for conservation in Indonesia, supported by new laws and willingness from the government to collaborate on research. With this campaign we envision to reach at least 5,000 local people in Eastern Indonesia. This would not yet solve the entire problem, but it could significantly reduce the harvest of many endangered parrot species in the wild. In the future we would monitor the results, involve more villages in the framework, and make more videos about the issues.
