Traditional uses of herpetofauna practiced by local people in the island of Sumatra, Indonesia: Implications for conservation

Abstract

Local people in Sumatra have long utilized herpetofauna to provide food, medicine, and other purposes. However, research related to wildlife utilization is still lacking. The objective of this paper was to provide an overview of the island-wide (i.e. Sumatra) traditional use of herpetofauna by the local people and analyze its implications for conservation. Published papers were collected and analyzed. From 11 papers, 22 wild-caught species (18 reptiles, 4 amphibians) were used by local people for their meat (water monitor, freshwater turtles, large-sized snakes), eggs (marine and freshwater turtles), or medicinal purposes (snakes, lizards, frogs; as skin-related remedies). Among them, 8 reptiles are listed in the IUCN Red List and CITES Appendices, including Batagur borneoensis (CR, Appendix II), Chelonia mydas (EN, Appendix I), Notochelys platynota (VU, Appendix II), Ophiophagus hannah (VU, Appendix II), Ortilia borneensis (EN, Appendix II). Additionally, 5 reptiles are protected by Indonesian law. Batagur borneoensis is also listed as a very high priority species for conservation by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry. No amphibian is protected by law, listed in the CITES, nor IUCN Red List. Traditional uses of protected species and listed under the IUCN Red List need to be managed properly to ensure their sustainability.

Herpetofauna trade via e-commerce in Indonesia

“…House geckos are widely traded as pets and in traditional medicine. In addition, geckoes were easily found around the house [5]. There were 43 alien species recorded in this study.…”

“…Among the groups of wild animals that are commonly traded in Indonesia are herpetofauna (amphibians and reptiles). The use of herpetofauna in Indonesia can be divided into three main categories, i.e., health products, mostly as traditional medicines [2], consumption [3], and other uses, such as accessories [4] or pets [5]. The popularity of herpetofauna, especially reptiles, was due to the unique nature and exotic body shapes of some species [6,7,8].…”

Growth patterns of captive painted terrapins Batagur borneoensis in the Aceh Province, Indonesia

“…Likewise, with B. borneoensis, this animal is now only found in Indonesia and also neighboring Malaysia. The current population condition is also not much different from that of B. affinis, which has begun to decline in its population found in its original habitat in Seruway, Aceh province (Mardiastuti et al 2021;Saputra et al 2021). The cause of the decline in the population of B. borneoensis found in the waters of Seruway, Aceh Province, is the high level of illegal hunting carried out by the community, both for their parents to be traded illegally and illegal hunting of their eggs for consumption.…”

“…Based on the public's belief in the efficacy of this animal's eggs, the price of eggs is in great demand by the public for consumption, thus causing the price of painted terrapin eggs to be very expensive (Marshall et al 2020). This is what causes coastal communities to engage in poaching painted terrapin eggs increasingly, given the increasingly high market demand (Mardiastuti et al 2021;Tshewang et al 2021).…”

Utilization Practices and Conservation Impacts of Endangered Wildlife in Asian Countries

“…For example, the critically endangered (CR) brown Asian giant tortoise has been consumed by the Semoq Beri indigenous people in Pahang [19]. However, this species has also been utilized in Indonesia for wildlife trading and traditional medicine, where it is believed to aid in musculoskeletal health [20,21]. Additionally, primate species, including the dusky leaf monkey and white-handed gibbon, have been reported as a source of food among the Semoq Beri and Temuan people in Peninsular Malaysia [22,23].…”