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resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo once tried to buy a songbird known as a white-rumped shama for Rp 600 million (US$41,347) after it beat his bird in a bird-singing contest in Bogor Palace in March.

The owner of the bird, Muhammad Nur Alamsyah, who hails from Brebes, Central Java, denied the offer and opted to keep it for other contests and for breeding. The bird, locally known as kucica hutan, is popular among bird lovers as a cage bird and songster thanks to its melodious chirps. Songbird contests, like the one held in Bogor Palace, could boost the birds’ selling price if they win.

If the event were held now, the President might want to think twice before making an offer for the bird as kucica hutan was recently included on the revised list of protected flora and fauna as stipulated in an Environment and Forestry Ministry regulation issued last month.

The updated list, revised for the first time in 19 years, saw a jump in the number of species, from 294 in 1999 to 921 this year. The list aims to promote sustainability and proper treatment of protected animals and plants, the ministry’s biodiversity director, Indra Exploitasia, said.

Enny Sudarmonowati, deputy chairwoman for the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), who also joined the ministry in updating the list, said increasing the number of protected flora and fauna species on the list was inevitable as the country saw significant decreases in its endemic species in nature.

“We’re pushing the ministry to publish this because it has been a long time and the population of flora and fauna keeps decreasing,” she told The Jakarta Post on Thursday. She further said some of the protected species were even listed as available in the international wild animal and plant trade.

Birds dominate the list with 564 species, including cage birds like kucica hutan, kenari melayu (finch) and gelatik jawa (sparrow), which are popular as cage birds and collected as pets by Indonesians, especially Javanese people.

The list also includes the white cockatoo, a prime target for wildlife smugglers and traders as it had yet to be recognized as a protected species. They were added to the list because they met the criteria for protected flora and fauna as stipulated in a 1999 government regulation on flora and fauna conservation. Article 5 of the regulation stipulates that any species of flora and fauna that is endemic to the country, has a small population or saw its population decline significantly is required to be included as a protected species.

However, several species on the 1999 list are not on the new list, including 13 species of hardwood timber tree. Enny explained that they were excluded from the list on the back of recent research about its population and a chance to breed them thanks to technological advancements.

As the new additions to the list are popular pets, Indra said the ministry was currently preparing a more comprehensive policy.

“For now, people can contact the Natural Resources and Ecosystem Conservation Agency’s hotline to notify authorities that they are keeping the listed animals or plants,” he said.

Under the 1990 law on natural resources and ecosystem conservation, those who trade or keep protected flora or fauna face up to five years in prison or Rp 100 million in fines.

Dwi Nugroho Adhiasto of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Indonesia lauded the revised list under the regulation, saying it had shown the current state of nature.

“While we’re still lacking a comprehensive law on the matter, the ministerial regulation can serve as a quick response for changes occurring in the issue of nature conservation. It shows that many [species] still need to be protected, as well as our lack of effort in conserving them,” he said.