Indonesia seeks deal on wildlife

By Lucy Williamson
BBC News, Jakarta

Indonesia's efforts to protect orang-utans have had mixed results

Indonesia is urging its neighbours to unite in a regional effort to combat the illegal wildlife trade.

It is hosting a meeting of ministers from the 10 members of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) to discuss the trade.

The meeting is the second of Asean's Wildlife Law Enforcement Network.

It was set up in 2005 to fight the illegal exploitation and sale of fauna and flora from some of the world's most important wildlife habitats.

Indonesia has something to offer this conference and it wants something in return as well.

Its wildlife protection laws are some of the best in the region, it says, and can serve as a reference for other countries.

But the problem lies in enforcing those regulations.

The meeting is designed to promote co-operation between countries and international bodies such as Interpol to stop the illegal trade in animals.

According to the environmental group ProFauna, more than 95% of the animals sold in markets here are taken directly from the wild, with rare endangered species fetching the highest prices.

Officials say the illegal animal trade in Indonesia was worth more than $16m (£8m) in 2005, and many environmentalists believe that trade is growing in line with illegal logging of the country's forests.