Brief Indonesia demographic background:


Indonesia is a large archipelago, consisting of more than 17,000 islands. More than 6000 are habited, of which 6 large main islands plus 2 groups of smaller islands contain many important endangered wild species.

Total area: 741,099.93 sq miles or 1,919,440.00 sq km

 
Indonesia has 515 species of mammals (second on the world mammal list behind Brazil), 511 species of reptiles (fourth largest in diversity), 1,531 species of birds (fifth largest), 270 amphibian species (sixth largest), 75 species of psittacine/parrot birds (largest in the world) and 35 species of primates (fourth largest).

Indonesian tropical rain forest home to many wildlife

This country is also in the top five for plant diversity with an estimated 38,000 higher plant species; heads the world list in palm diversity with 477 species, and has over half of the 350 species of dipterocarp (tropical rainforest) trees, with 155 being endemic in Kalimantan.  Indonesia also ranks behind only Brazil and possibly Columbia in freshwater fish diversity, with about 1,400 species.  Some species were only discovered in the 20th century.

 
Demand for hardwood and unsustainable deforestation
 

The global demand for our hardwood causes unsustainable deforestation and massive habitat loss to many endangered wild animals. We are all already indirectly responsible for the loss of many species in the world.  Today those that are surviving in small numbers are still hunted, killed, trapped for exploitation.