Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Alfred Russel Wallace and the Wallacea Wakatobi - Indonesia, 10–13 November 2013

TAPROBANICA, ISSN 1800–427X. May, 2015. Vol. 07, No. 03: pp. 193–201. © Research Center for Climate Change, University of Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia www.taprobanica.org

DEFINING PRIORITIES IN THE MIDST OF UNCERTAINTY: THE CEPF ECOSYSTEM PROFILE PROCESS FOR WALLACEA

Pete Wood1,2, Hanom Bashari2, Agus Hermansyah3, Jihad S. Udin2, Hilda Lionata2, Shinta Pardede3, Ria Saryanthi2 and Bambang Tetuka2

1 Green Gecko UK, 8 Green’s Road, Cambridge CB4 3EF, UK; E-mail: [email protected] 2 Burung Indonesia, Jalan Dadali 32, Bogor, Indonesia 3 Wildlife Conservation Society Indonesia Program, Bogor, Indonesia

Abstract Conservation priorities in Wallacea were identified to inform planning of a Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) grants facility. Priorities were defined using locality data for 560 globally threatened species which occur in Wallacea, as defined by IUCN. 251 terrestrial and freshwater Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) were identified. Locality records also allowed the identification of 74 marine KBAs, and information on range and habitat was used to identify a further 66 candidate marine KBAs. Approximately one-third of terrestrial KBAs have protected area status. To help focus conservation efforts, twenty-four terrestrial KBAs with single-site endemics and critically endangered species were identified. The study highlights the lack of data on many species, and the lack of a centralized repository for biodiversity information on Wallacea. Urgent research needs include survey work to confirm the presence of species in more sites, taxonomic work to clarify the status of some species and sub-species, and expert-lead threat assessments to update the Red List.

Key words: Biodiversity, conservation, KBA, Red Data Book, Threatened species,

Background and economic landscapes. The majority of No location in Wallacea is further than 100 the region’s 30 million people live in km from the coast, and the fragmentation of coastal areas, and many still derive their the region into thousands of islands has had living from farms, forests and inland a defining influence on the social, political wetlands, as well as the sea. However, the

193 TAPROBANICA VOL. 07: NO. 03 Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Alfred Russel Wallace and the Wallacea Wakatobi - Indonesia, 10–13 November 2013 region is changing rapidly. Makassar, a city 33.8 million hectares supports highly of more than a million people, is the centre diverse biological communities with many of economic development in eastern unique species. More than half of the Indonesia, and another four cities—Ambon, mammals, 40% of the birds and 65% of the Manado, Mataram and Kupang—are amphibians found in Wallacea do not occur nearing populations of 500,000. For outside the hotspot. Many of these species centuries, these cities have been centres for are endemic not only to the hotspot but also the export of natural resources from to single islands or mountains within it. Wallacea. Originally these were Such species are highly vulnerable to sandalwood, nutmeg and cloves, but now habitat loss, hunting, collection and other copra, coffee, minerals, timber and fish are pressures. the main exports. The study described in this paper was Most of the participants in the Indonesian carried out for the Critical Ecosystem Science Association conference in Partnership Fund (CEPF). CEPF provides Wakatobi will have made the flight from grants to non-governmental and private Makassar to Kendari and then to the island sector organizations, communities and of Wangi-wangi. The view from the plane individuals so they can conserve critical gave a glimpse of the natural wealth and ecosystems, located in biodiversity the pressures on this extraordinary region. hotspots. The fund will start making grants Deep seas, tiny islands, and coral reefs to support conservation action in Wallacea contrasted with forested hills, including in late 2014, and commissioned the writing some of the region’s most dramatic karst of an ‘ecosystem profile’ (including this scenery. Yet in each case there was also a study) to ensure that grants are directed threat – mining and quarrying; land towards the most urgent and effective clearance producing silt which muddies actions. Data for this study was collected coastal waters; hills denuded and ringed by from published and unpublished sources, huge terraces, ready for planting with oil through consultation with experts, and palm; expanding urban fringes, or rural through an extensive process of public smallholders clearing forest. consultation through workshops in the region. Overall, 301 organizations and Biodiversity and the threats to it are not individuals not associated with any distributed evenly over the face of the organizations participated in the ecosystem globe. Conservation organizations can profile process. maximize the effectiveness of their limited funds by focusing on the places that are The IUCN list of globally threatened most important and where action is most species (those in the ‘critically urgent. Wallacea is one of thirty-five endangered’, ‘endangered’ or ‘vulnerable’ biodiversity hotspots, defined as regions categories of the IUCN Red List) was used that have at least 1,500 endemic plants as a reference for the identification of species and have lost more than 70% of priority sites and actions within the hotspot. their natural habitat, that have been There are 560 such species in Wallacea, identified globally (Myers et al., 2000; 308 of them terrestrial or freshwater species Mittermeier et al., 2004). They cover only and 252 marine. Priority conservation 2.3% of the Earth’s surface but contain a actions were divided into species disproportionately high number of species, conservation actions, site conservation many of which are threatened with actions, and corridor conservation actions. extinction. Hotspots, therefore, are global The large number of conservation actions priorities for conservation. The region’s identified meant that further prioritisation thousands of islands, covering a total of was necessary to identify a set of priorities

19394 TAPROBANICA VOL. 07: NO. 03 & Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Alfred Russel Wallace and the Wallacea Wakatobi - Indonesia, 10–13 November 2013 which could feasibly be funded by CEPF The site-based approach was more given the funding (around 6 million USD) challenging for marine species, as many and time (four years) available. range widely and because locality information is heavily biased towards a The most widespread threat to biodiversity small number of areas where there have is loss of habitat, and the most cost- been species-level studies. Confirmed effective means of conservation is normally location records were found for 186 of the site-based interventions. Following the 252 globally threatened marine species, and methodology of Langhammer et al. (2007), 74 marine KBAs were identified on this the study used locality records of globally basis. To complete the marine KBA threatened species and maps and satellite network and maximize the chance of images to identify and delineate priority covering the 66 species for which no sites, known as Key Biodiversity Areas locality data was available, additional (KBAs). KBA identification incorporates candidate marine KBAs were identified the analysis of Important Bird Areas with reference to existing marine protected (Rombang et al., 2002; Chan et al., 2004; areas, priority areas identified in recent Trainor et al., 2007) and the Alliance for marine priority setting processes, and Zero Extinction priority sites. 251 proposed marine protected areas identified terrestrial KBAs were identified, 105 in the in that analysis. Candidate KBAs were also Lesser Sundas (82 in Nusa Tenggara and identified where important marine 23 in Timor-Leste), 95 in Sulawesi, and 51 conservation values and terrestrial KBAs in Maluku. Whilst all these sites are form a contiguous area. The analysis was priorities, a sub-set of 24 was identified discussed and refined with local because they have critically endangered or stakeholders, experts and conservation endangered species, and are the only organizations. In total 66 candidate marine known site for at least one of the threatened KBAs were identified. species that occurs there (Table 1).

Table 1: List of 24 (of 251) terrestrial and freshwater KBAs prioritised because they have critically endangered or endangered species and are the only known site for at least one threatened species Number of globally Site Province threatened species Danau Poso 21 Lore Lindu 42 Feruhumpenai–Matano Central Sulawesi 46 Morowali 25 Kokolomboi 2 Manupeu Tanadaru 11 Mbeliling–Tanjung Kerita Mese East Nusa Tenggara 13 Ruteng 15 Manusela 21 Pulau Buano Maluku 2 Gunung Kepala Madang 14 Gunung Batu Putih North Maluku 8 Taliabu Utara 4 Sanana 3 Aketajawe 10 Morotai 10

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Number of globally Site Province threatened species Gunung Sahendaruman 11 Pulau Siau 5 North Sulawesi Danau Tondano 4 Mahawu–Masarang 13 Danau Mahalona 14 Karaeng–Lompobattang South Sulawesi 19 Pulau Tana Jampea 3 Pegunungan Tokalekaju West Sulawesi 25

Priority species actions were defined for range. Ten landscape corridors were globally threatened species which would defined covering large, relatively not necessarily be effectively conserved contiguous areas of habitat where these through site actions alone. These include species occur. In practice, the corridors species where individuals are collected for cover most of the remaining forest in the food or other uses, either in trade or for large islands of the hotspot. The definition local use, and where such pressure is of corridor boundaries used ecological believed to be the principal cause of threat. (primarily forest) boundaries where 22 terrestrial species and 207 marine possible, but are necessarily approximate. species (including 176 corals) were A complementarity analysis, starting with included on the list of species actions, the corridor with the highest number of which include education, policy change, threatened species, identified five corridors enforcement, and further studies. which between them cover all the threatened ‘corridor’ species: Central Finally, priority corridors were identified, Sulawesi, Seram-Buru, Flores Forests, defined loosely as large landscape units Halmahera, and Sumba. necessary for the maintenance ecological and evolutionary processes that species and Sixteen Marine corridors were defined sites depend on. Corridors can be based on identification of areas important identified for specific species that rely on for groups of wide-ranging or migratory larger areas of habitat than can be species, or for critical ecological processes, conserved in a single KBA, for species that such as spawning grounds. They were are not mobile but occur at very low defined based on inputs from marine densities, because they provide habitat experts, and their boundaries are connectivity between KBAs, or because approximations of the limits of the they provide environmental services, such conservation value contained by the as watershed protection, that are of corridor. Combining expert opinion and ecological and economic importance. patchy data, it was tentatively concluded that the North Sulawesi and Halmahera Terrestrial corridors were defined on the corridors are the highest priority. basis of the presence of landscape species and for the role of the corridor in Whilst the study distinguished terrestrial maintaining ecosystem services and from marine KBAs for reasons of data and connectivity between KBAs. Of 308 administrative reality, in some places these terrestrial globally threatened species, 26 sites form contiguous ‘ridge to reef’ were judged to be landscape species, either ecosystems. Such areas are of especially on the basis of known information about high priority because they offer an their ecology or on an assumptions based opportunity to conserve ecological on large body size and relatively wide processes which work across the

19396 TAPROBANICA VOL. 07: NO. 03 & Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Alfred Russel Wallace and the Wallacea Wakatobi - Indonesia, 10–13 November 2013 boundaries of these ecosystems. In total, The 251 terrestrial KBAs in Wallacea cover there are 64 terrestrial KBAs contiguous 9.5 million hectares, about 30% of the 33.8 with 58 marine KBAs. In 37 cases, the million hectare land surface. In Indonesia, terrestrial and marine KBAs share a border, more than three-quarters of the area of while in 27 cases the terrestrial KBA is an terrestrial KBAs (7.9 million hectares, island entirely within the marine KBA. 88%) is within the national forest estate, with 30% in forests designated for Threats and the Conservation of species conservation, 30% in forests designated for and KBAs: Data on threats to species and watershed protection, and 27% in forests KBAs was gathered from stakeholders at where licenses for timber exploitation or the seven workshops held in Wallacea conversion to non-forest uses may be Data was collected for 197 KBAs (148 granted. Thus 70% of the terrestrial KBA terrestrial and 49 marine). Additional area in Indonesia (6.2 million hectares) is analysis of land-use change and forest loss outside the formal protected areas network. in and around all KBAs was obtained by Of the 2.7 million hectares of KBAs that comparing Ministry of Forestry land cover are within conservation areas in Indonesia, maps for 2000 and 2011 (for Indonesia half (1.4 million hectares, 52%) is within only). 11 national parks, each with its own management budget and human resources. Threats were divided into 12 categories. The remainder (1.3 million hectares, 48%) The KBAs assessed experienced between is in strict nature reserves, wildlife reserves, one and six different categories of threat and other conservation reserves that are (mean=2.6, n=197). In marine KBAs, the managed by regional Natural Resource most prevalent problem by far was Management agency staff. Government unsustainable local fishing, reported for provides some 30 million USD per year for 73% of marine KBAs. Hunting and the management of the conservation estate collection of coral and other biota were in Wallacea. threats at one-third of the marine KBAs. Land-based threats were also significant, In Timor-Leste, 16 of a total of 35 KBAs with mining a problem at one-third of the are protected by existing legislation, and marine KBAs, pollution and sedimentation another eight (possibly more) would be at over a quarter of the sites, and settlement legally protected by legislation which was and tourism development reported to be a being discussed in mid-2014. Very limited threat to just under a quarter. funds are available for conservation management from the government, and The most frequent threats to the 148 donor funding is concentrated on human sampled terrestrial KBAs were local or needs and peace-building. small-scale exploitation, with hunting and collecting, smallholder agriculture and Conservation prioritisation using Red livestock grazing, and small-scale logging Lists: This study identified priority sites, each reported as a threat to about half of the corridors and species action with reference KBAs. However the greatest impact was to the IUCN Red List and using the from mining, reported as a threat for 45% methodology of Langhammer et al. (2007) of terrestrial KBAs. Pollution, to define Key Biodiversity Areas. Using urbanization, industrial agriculture and these global standard assessments allows forestry plantations each affected just under the threats and priorities in the Wallacea a fifth of all KBAs. Commercial logging, hotspot to be compared with other hotspots, infrastructure development and invasive and across species groups. It also strongly species were each reported to affect less focuses conservation action on the fate of than 10% of terrestrial KBAs. species which are in imminent danger of

19397 TAPROBANICA VOL. 07: NO. 03 & Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Alfred Russel Wallace and the Wallacea Wakatobi - Indonesia, 10–13 November 2013 extinction, and therefore those which most  Implement studies, and publish urgently need attention. Nevertheless, the existing studies, to describe new species approach has significant limitations: and clarify the taxonomic status of many known species.  Not all species have been assessed to determine their Red List status.  Complete Red List assessments for Approximately 1,600 species in Wallacea more species in the Wallacea region, with have been assessed by IUCN. There will special emphasis on (a) those species be species in danger of extinction that are groups that have not yet been widely not included in the list of globally assessed, and (b) data-deficient species threatened species, and therefore may not which apparently have limited ranges and be covered by the conservation actions small populations. identified.  Carry out field work to improve  For those species that have been knowledge of the status and distribution of assessed as globally threatened, data on threatened species, particularly those population size, threats and trends are known only from a single to a few KBAs. rarely available. The possibility of errors in assigning threat status, therefore, cannot be  Review the distribution of non- eliminated. globally threatened endemic species within Wallacea. Identify further restricted range  The identification of KBAs based species, and review how well these are on locality data, not range maps, is a covered in the existing network of KBAs. conservative approach which avoids the risk of conserving a site where a species is  Develop a mechanism to locate, assumed to exist but may not. However it store and facilitate access to relevant data, risks missing important sites because data and use this to periodically re-evaluate the on distribution is often incomplete. conservation outcomes.

 The dependence on species as the The lack of data on the range of globally basis for defining conservation outcomes threatened species was a major constraint in means that the discovery of new species the identification and prioritization of and changes in species taxonomy, KBAs. For six terrestrial globally particularly splitting one species into threatened species, no data was found to several, will affect the selection and support the identification of site outcomes prioritization of conservation outcomes. in Wallacea (Table 2). It is likely that these species already occur in existing KBAs, but None of these limitations invalidates the field work is needed to confirm this and approach, and alternative approaches also thus ensure that the protection of these have risks associated with them, including species is addressed. In addition, 143 the possibility that when conservation species in Wallacea are defined by IUCN efforts are focused on the largest or most as data deficient. All of them require diverse sites, highly specialized, scarce further work to clarify their status and species may be missed. The limitations do, distribution, but 34 species are prioritized however, suggest that the study should be because available information suggests they viewed as one of several different ways of are very rare or have a limited range (Table identifying conservation priorities in 3). They are thus strong candidates to be Wallacea. The following actions are assessed as globally threatened species priorities for improving the effectiveness of once adequate data is available. the definition of conservation actions:

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Table 2: Terrestrial Globally Threatened Species in Wallacea for Which No KBAs Could Be Identified; EN, endangered; VU, vulnerable, CR, critically endangered; ENT, East Nusa Tenggara; WNT, West Nusa Tenggara; P, Pisces; L, Lepidoptera; M, Mammalia. Scientific Name & status Distribution Action Required (Common Name & Group) Pandaka pygmaea CR Indonesia, Philippines, Clarification of distribution and Dwarf pygmy goby (P) Fiji, New Guinea reassessment of threat status Euploea caespes EN Adonara, Sumba, Murphy’s crow (L) Pura, ENT Parantica philo VU Surveys to locate sites for the species Sumbawa, WNT Sumbawa tiger (L) Parantica timorica EN Timor, ENT, Timor- Timor yellow tiger (L) Leste Single record from Timor may be a distinct Rhinolophus canuti VU Timor, ENT, Timor- form; requires further survey and Canoet’s horseshoe-bat (M) Leste clarification of taxonomy

Table 3: Candidate Species Outcomes for Data-Deficient Terrestrial Species Likely to Be Assessed as Globally Threatened; A, Amphibia; O, Odonata, P, Plantae; R, Reptilia; L, M, the same as Table 2. Scientific Name Site Note (source: IUCN Red List) (Common Name / Group) (Islands) Rhacophorus edentulous (A) Sulawesi Known only from holotype Sangihe This species is endemic to the islands of Sangihe Mycalesis tilmara (L) Siau and Siau So far known from only two locations, but Crocidura tenuis Timor expected to occur more widely on the island, Timor shrew (M) especially at higher elevations Known from three specimens collected in the Crunomys celebensis mid-1970s, captured accidentally. There has Sulawesi Sulawesi shrew mouse (M) been limited survey work involving appropriate survey techniques Melomys cooperae Yamdena Known only from holotype Yamdena Island melomys (M)

Prosciurillus abstrusus Sulawesi Known only from the type locality Secretive dwarf squirrel (M) Rattus timorensis Timor Known only from holotype Timor forest rat (M) Rhinolophus montanus The species is known only from holotype, Timor Timorese horseshoe bat (M) collected in 1979 Rousettus linduensis Sulawesi Known only from holotype Linduan Rousette (M) Recently described, population status cannot be Tarsius lariang Sulawesi reasonably estimated. Additional surveys are Lariang tarsier (M) needed Tarsius pumillus Known only from three museum specimens, and Sulawesi Pygmy tarsier (M) presumed to be extinct Recently described, population status cannot be Tarsius wallacei Sulawesi reasonably estimated. Additional surveys are Wallace’s tarsier (M) needed Bacan Known only from the type-series (20 males and Argiolestes alfurus (O) one female): North Moluccas, Indonesia

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Celebophlebia dactylogastra (O) Sulawesi Known from three records from two localities Diplacina cyrene (O) Buru Known from two records from two localities Drepanosticta berlandi (O) Lombok Known from two records (prior to 1900) Known only from the holotype (male) and Gynacantha arthuri (O) Sumba paratype (female) Huonia ferentina (O) Halmahera Known only from the holotype Ictinogomphus celebensis (O) Sulawesi Known only from two records both prior to 1934 Nannophlebia buruensis (O) Buru Known from three records prior to 1930 Neurothemis nesaea (O) Sulawesi Known only from two males and one female Palaiargia optata (O) Obi Known only from two records prior to 1954 Palaiargia tanysiptera (O) Halmahera Known from two localities from 1951 Pseudagrion schmidtianum (O) Timor Known only from the syntype Zygonyx ilia (O) Sulawesi Known only from the holotype (male) Daemonorops schlechteri (P) Sulawesi Known only from holotype Confined to Ambon Island. The genus is in need Drymophloeus oliviformis (P) Ambon of taxonomic revision Nephentes nigra (P) Sulawesi Newly described species, no data on population Cyrtodactylus deveti Endemic to Morotai, Halmahera. Known only Morotai Moluccan bow-fingered gecko (R) from few specimens Cyrtodactylus gordongekkoi (R) Lombok Known only from two specimens from Lombok Cyrtodactylus wetariensis Known only from its type locality on Wetar Wetar Wetar bow-fingered gecko (R) Island Enhydris matannensis Sulawesi Known from the type locality, Lake Matana, Matano mud snake (R) Muna Sulawesi, and near Raha on Muna Island Banda The habitat preferences of this species are Lepidodactylus oortii (R) Damar unknown, but it is known to be arboreal and Yamdena insectivorous Known only from the holotype, collected in Luperosaurus iskandari (R) Sulawesi 1998 (Brown et al. 2000). Members of genus are rare and secretive

Acknowledgements This study was undertaken by Burung Langhammer, F. P., M. I. Bakarr, L. A. Indonesia, Wildlife Conservation Society- Bennun, T. M. Brooks, R. P. Clay, and W. Indonesia Program, Hametin Associates, Darwall, 2007. Identification and gap Samdhana Institute, and the Bogor analysis of key biodiversity areas: Targets Agricultural University Centre for Coastal for comprehensive protected area systems. & Marine Studies for the Critical In: Valentine, P. (ed.). Best Practice Ecosystem Partnership Fund. CEPF is Protected Area Guideline Series No, 15. funded by l'Agence Française de IUCN, Gland. Dévelopement, Conservation International, the European Union, the Global Mittermeier, R. A., G. P. Robles, M. Environment Facility, the Government of Hoffmann, J. Pilgrim, T. Brooks, and C. G. Japan, the MacArthur Foundation and the Mittermeier, 2004. Hotspots Revisited. World Bank. Mexico City, Mexico: CEMEX.

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