Morten Strange The enigmatic Wallace’s Standardwing is one of Halmahera's special birds Zoom In

Historic national park declaration on Halmahera

11-11-2004

Aketajawe-Lolobata on the Indonesian island of Halmahera has been declared a National Park by the Indonesian Minister of Forestry, after more than eight years of progress towards this historic announcement.

The park will protect 167,300 hectares of hill and lowland rainforest of exceptional biodiversity importance. The timing of the announcement is especially significant as it coincides with BirdLife’s publication of the Important Bird Areas of Asia. Aketajawe-Lolobata was originally identified as an Important Bird Area following BirdLife survey work in 1994–1996, supported by the British Birdfair, Loro Parque Foundation, Keidanren Nature Conservation Fund and others.

More recently, research into the area has been carried out by BirdLife Indonesia, the Government’s Directorate-General of Forest Conservation, the local University of Pattimura and local conservation groups Hualopu and North Maluku Environmental Conservation (KAMU).

The park is vital for at least 23 North Maluku endemic bird species

In 1999 the Indonesian Government agreed to create a National Park. However, civil unrest in Maluku Province stopped all conservation activity. When stability returned to the region in 2002, local government and people were alarmed at the scale of forest clearance and the idea of a park gained new momentum. In August 2004 the Governor of North Maluku Province, the Heads of the Districts of East and Central Halmahera, and the Municipality of Tidore, formally proposed the creation of the National Park to the National Forestry Minister.

The park is vital for at least 23 bird species endemic to North Maluku including the charismatic Wallace’s Standardwing Semioptera wallacei and three of Halmahera’s four endemics: Sombre Kingfisher Halcyon funebris, Halmahera Cuckooshrike Coracina parvula and Dusky Oriole Oriolus phaeocromus, whilst the final endemic, the appropriately named Invisible Rail Habroptila wallacii may prove to be there too.

The park is also home to a semi-nomadic community of people known as the 'Tobelo Dalam' whose traditional lifestyle has been increasingly under pressure as forests are logged and cleared for settlement and plantations.

BirdLife’s biodiversity survey work in Halmahera was kindly supported by Loro Parque Foundation, British Birdfair 1994, Keidanren Nature Conservation Fund (KNCF), British Ornithologists’ Union (BOU), Peter Smith Charitable Trust, In Focus County Bird Race, AEON Environment Foundation, Zoological Society for the Conservation of Species and Populations (ZGAP) and Mrs M A K van Hemert-Peterich.