Wildlife trafficking is thought to be the third largest illegal trade after drugs and weapons. As a global hot spot for this illicit trade, Indonesia is not only a source country for the rapidly growing international market, but it is also home to a huge domestic market, especially for songbirds. In recent years, the volume in trafficking has risen dramatically and for many of the archipelago’s endangered species, poaching is now as big a threat as habitat loss. Why has wildlife trafficking reached such enormous proportions in Indonesia? Who and what are the main drivers of the trade? And what initiatives exist to combat wildlife trafficking and enhance conservation efforts?

In this week’s Talking Indonesia podcast, Dr Dirk Tomsa discusses these issues with Eleanor Paish, a zoologist and filmmaker from the University of West England, and Adam Miller, executive director and founder of Planet Indonesia, an NGO working on conservation issues in Indonesia.

Talking Indonesia, co-hosted in 2017 by Dr Dave McRae, Dr Jemma Purdey, Dr Charlotte Setijadi and Dr Dirk Tomsa, presents extended interviews each fortnight with experts on Indonesian politics, foreign policy, culture, language and more. Find all the Talking Indonesia episodes and more at the Indonesia at Melbourne blog.

Photo credit: Eleanor Paish