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cientists agree that a declining number of bats may lead to a rise in malaria cases – and that protecting the mammal is important for the nation’s ecosystem.

“A bat can eat more than 500 insects every night, including malaria-bearing [mosquitoes]. Imagine there are 10,000 bats in a colony. They can eat at least 5 million insects a night,” Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) scientist Ibnu Maryanto told reporters on Monday on the sidelines of the Southeast Asia Bat Conference in Bogor, West Java.

Bats could also halve the need for pesticides, meaning farmers might also benefit from their presence, Ibnu said.

LIPI chairman Lukman Hakim said in a speech opening the conference that the number of bats was declining almost everywhere and many were endangered due to disruptions to their natural cave habitats.

“Deforestation, pesticide use, mining closures and unnecessary eviction procedures are reducing bat populations dramatically,” Lukman said.

Lukman said that some bat species have adapted by relocating to wood-framed buildings, attics and eaves.

However, he added, the renovations of old buildings and the use of modern and seamless construction methods have reduced the number of roosting sites available to bats.

Spelunkers might also disturb bats if they explore caves during their hibernation period.

“When a bat is disturbed during that time, it can lose a two-month supply of energy, which may result in its death from starvation,” Lukman said.

Ibnu said that bats also played a vital role in pollinating plants.

“Tropical fruit plants, such as mangos, rambutan, mangosteen, duku and durians, depend on bats for pollination so they can produce fruits,” he said, adding that bat-assisted pollination could also improve fruit quality,” he said.

Guano left by bats in caves supported entire ecosystems, Ibnu said, providing the organisms that eat bat feces with a host of unique organisms and bacteria.

Bats, the only mammals that fly, comprise the second largest order of mammals. The animals play an important role in aiding regrowth after forest clearance while searching for food and roosting sites.

“It is obvious that efforts to conserve bats are very important. Limestone mining has to consider the impact of its activities to bat habitats in and around their area of operation,” he said.

Bats, however, were also vectors for diseases such as the nipah virus, hendra virus and rabies.

Indonesia has the largest numbers of bat species in the world, hosting 225 species or 11 percent of total number of bat species.

Ibnu said that at least 5 percent of Indonesia’s bat species were extinct.

Lukman said the number of bats in Indonesia seemed to be too much to manage for LIPI, the agency responsible for managing the nation’s biological resources.

“We would also like to remind the government to always consider the biodiversity protection aspect in its effort to accelerate development particularly in areas with mining companies,” Lukman said. (swd)