熱帯僻地山村における「救荒収入源」としての野生動物の役割

―インドネシア東部セラム島の商業的オウム猟の事例―

抄録

Illegal hunting (trapping) and trading of wild parrots such as Cacatua moluccensis (protected species listed in CITES Appendix I), Lorius domicella (protected species listed in CITES Appendix II), and Eos bornea (unprotected species) are important money-earning activities for some villagers of mountain area in central Seram, Eastern Indonesia. In this paper I attempt to examine the economic role and importance of the wild parrots for local people.

Based on the field research carried out in a remote mountain village located at Manusela valley, the major source of income for rural households is seasonal migrant work as harvester of clove (Syzygium aromaticum) in southern coastal area during the harvest time from September to November. The income from the migrant work, however, is unstable because of the fluctuation in production and price of clove. The dependency of local people on wild parrots is enhanced during times of hardship originated from the fall in this major income. In this sense, it could be said that wild parrots are a supplemental remedial source of income.

On the basis of the capture data over the past few years, most of trappers conducted parrot trapping sporadically and the amount of catch per household was very low. Thus, parrot trapping could be regarded as non-intensive money-earning activities oriented to “need satisfaction” (in many cases, to gaining some cash to buy daily necessities) rather than intensive money-earning activities to maximize profit.

The research findings above mentioned indicate that some measures and efforts to stabilize the fluctuation of income stemmed from seasonal migrant work and to create alternative source of income as a substitution have possibility to decrease reliance on wild parrots.