TEMPO.CO, Ternate - As many as 23 species of rare animals in North Maluku are on the brink of extinction.
Coordinator of the Indonesian Biodiversity Association, Hanom Bashari said those animals include twelve species of birds, five species of fish, three species of mammals, two species of reptiles and one species of dragonfly. Additionally, he said that twelve kinds of rare plants in the province also face extinction.
"White cockatoo bird, Gaharu plant and Napoleon fish for example, are now less than 500 in number," Hanom told Tempo in the sideline of his program of designing a critical ecosystem profile in the Wallacea Region yesterday.
Several rare animals and plants in North Maluku province which also face extinction include Ternate musk, Bayan, Kalung Ungu parrot, Gebe polecat, Matabiru polecat, one species of dragonfly and Halmahera orchid.
"They all are found in Halmahera," said Hanom, citing the shrinking of their habitat and the high number of illegal hunting as the factors leading to their extinction.
In the meantime, Coordinator of the Outcome Indonesia Foundation, Ria Sarianti said that the Wallacea region serves as a habitat for hundreds of rare and unique animals and plants. The regions include West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, Sulawesi Island, Maluku Province, North Maluku Province and Timor Leste. "Many animals in these regions face extinction. Therefore, those animals have to be protected," she said.
BUDHY NURGIANTO