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he Environment and Forestry Ministry and the Indonesian Zoos Association (PKBSI) have agreed to set up an online portal to facilitate animal exchange among conservation institutions.

Animal exchanges are considered crucial for the preservation of genetic diversity of animals outside their original habitat.

The ministry’s director general of ecosystem and natural resource conservation, Tachrir Fathoni, said the portal would help stakeholders find the animals they needed for breeding and genetic improvement purposes.

So far, he said, for breeding purposes the conservation institutions could either borrow, exchange or obtain animals through grants. These three options, he added, would also be included in the portal.

“The point is that by using the online portal, unnecessary expenses will be eliminated,” Fathoni told a workshop on animal management guidelines in Jakarta recently.

Fathoni also said exchanges of animals were needed for research purposes and revival of particular species. Animal exchanges are regulated under Forestry Ministry Regulation No P.39/Menhut-II/2012.

Of all the protected animals and plants in Indonesia, there are 12 species of flora and fauna whose exchange must be approved by the President.

They are raflesia, anoa, babirusa, Javanese Rhino, Sumatran Rhino, komodo, all species of cendrawasih, Javanese eagle, Sumatran tiger, Mentawai lutung, orangutan and Javanese owa.

Quoting a government regulation, Fathoni said only conservation institutions with an A accreditation could loan animals out for breeding purposes. Unfortunately, of the 69 conservation institutions in Indonesia, only four have been awarded an A accreditation.

What is also concerning, Fathoni said, is that of the 69 conservation institutions, 53 were government owned. This further affected the development of the institutions due to a lack of flexibility in the state budget.

To deal with this issue, Fathoni suggested that in the future conservation institutions should be managed by separate entities such as businesses owned by regional administrations.

“That way, there will be the possibility for profit making to support conservation,” he said.

The plan to set up the online portal received a warm welcome from PKBSI chairman Rahmat Shah.

He said zoo managements encouraged transparency in conservation institutions as all animals in their collections legally belonged to the state.

Meanwhile, chairman of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Asian Wild Cattle Specialist Group, James Burton, said that zoos played important roles in the conservation of biodiversity.