The Action Indonesia Global Species Management Plans (GSMPs) set out to manage three threatened Indonesian taxa; anoa (Bubalus depressicornis and B. quarlesi), banteng (Bos javanicus) and babirusa (Babyrousa sp.). These GSMPs use the One Plan Approach to combine the skills, resources and expertise of both the zoo community and in situ practitioners.
The goals of the Action Indonesia GSMPs are:
- To reach a demographically and genetically healthy global ex situ population
- To raise awareness among zoo visitors
- To use zoo expertise to help in situ conservation
- To prioritise and support in situ projects
These GSMPs were founded in 2015 by the Indonesian Zoo and Aquarium Association (PKBSI), AZA, EAZA, the IUCN Species Survival Commission and the Asian Wild Cattle and Wild Pig specialist groups. In March 2016, they were approved and endorsed by the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KKH) and WAZA. They have since developed into a strong global partnership with over 50 partner institutions including zoos, NGOs, governments and universities.
Chester Zoo’s zoo education professionals provide training at Indonesian zoos and institutions on how to maximise the spread of wild cattle conservation messages. Alongside this, they work directly with the communities who share their homes and villages with these endangered species.
Our Curator of Mammals holds the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP) studbook for Javan banteng, and overall we play a huge roll in the European breeding programmes for each of the three GSMP taxa. Groups of individuals and their offspring are monitored and moved continuously to ensure a diverse and healthy gene pool throughout the ex-situ population.
In August 2019, Chester Zoo was heavily involved in the first ever Action Indonesia day. Education and outreach activities spearheaded by the Chester Zoo Discovery & Learning team seek to spread awareness of the issues facing wild cattle species and the methods through which anyone can get involved to help them. Learning resources produced by the team are readily available here, here, and here.