A. Species
Scientific name: Cuora amboinensis
Common name(s): Southeast Asian box turtle, Kura Kura
Global IUCN Red List Threat Status: Endangered
B. Location of use
Geographic location(s):
- Indonesia
Country/Region:
C. Scale of assessment
Scale of assessment: National Level
Name/Details of location: Indonesia
D. Timescale of use
Start Year: 2000
End Year: 2006
E. Information about the use
How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat and Wild species sourced from significantly modified habitat
Type of use: Extractive
Practice of use: Hunting and/or Trapping of live terrestrial and aerial animals
Lethal or non-lethal: Non-Lethal
Does this use involve take/extraction of: The whole entire organism
Purpose(s) of end use: Food and feed, Medicine and hygiene, Keeping/companionship/display and Ceremony, religious, and ritual expression
Motivation of use: Income generation from trade (individual/household/community) and Largescale commercial exploitation for trade
Is this use legal or illegal?: Some use is legal and some is illegal
F. Information about the Users
Which stakeholder(s) does the record primarily focus on?: Local people and National / local private sector
G. Information about the sustainability of use
Is there evidence that the use is having an impact on the target species?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat and Wild species sourced from significantly modified habitat
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an ecological perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable
Details of assessment carried out: This NDF Case study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Indonesian populations are reduced and still decreasing.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an economic perspective been recorded?: No, sustainability not determined
Details of assessment carried out: This NDF Case study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: The purpose of the management plan in place is to ensure responsible population management and sustainable use, and to maximise economic yield. This use is economically important but may not be sustainable if the population is not ecologically sustainable. Study results also revealed that nobody currently breeds the species in Indonesia because it is not economically feasible for the consumption trade. Local market price of juveniles ranged from USD 0.3-13.6 (mean USD 3.84); those of adults ranged from USD 2.7-10.9 (mean USD 5.33) per individual in 2006. Pet traders paid between USD 1.74 and 2.17 per individual to poacher in 2006. One individual can sell for USD 3.5-8.0 to foreign buyers.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a social perspective been recorded?: not recorded
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health perspective been recorded?: No, sustainability not determined
Details of assessment carried out: This NDF Case study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: The animals’ heads, as well as their shells are frequently sold as a tonic after childbirth. Flesh is believed to be a cure for nocturnal urination in bed by children. Eating the flesh or when using the flesh and/or parts of the dry plastron (rarely the carapace) in producing Traditional Chinese Medicine is believed to cure asthma and cancer.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an animal health/welfare perspective been recorded?: No, sustainability not determined
Details of assessment carried out: This NDF Case study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: The species may only be exported live. The export of dead animals, parts (carapace or plastron) or derivatives is illegal under the Indonesian Ministry Decree 447.
Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species
• Illegal trade constitutes the main threat to the survival of the species and should be stopped before any other management schemes can take place. • Surveys need to be conducted to determine the exact distribution of the species and its abundance in Indonesia. • A NDF assessment without abundance data and population dynamics will remain a compromise unless further bolstered by subsequently available information incorporated into a monitoring system that supports an ‘adaptive management’ framework. • In the absence of quantitative data on local populations of the Southeast Asian Box Turtle criteria that might indicate changes in the local abundance should be assessed. • Abundance indicators are relatively easy to obtain. Potential sources of information are collectors, middlemen, suppliers, exporters, data from importing countries, the CITES Management and Scientific Authorities in the country of export, published or unpublished reports, and grey literature. • Indicators should be assessed on an annual basis at the same time of the year and at the same sites. Recommended are sites in trade centres such as Makassar, Medan, Pekanbaru, Tembilahan and Banjarmasin.
Record source
Information about the record source: grey_lit
Date of publication/issue/production: 2008-01-01T00:00:00+0000
Source Reference(s):
By Sabine Schoppe
TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
NDF WORKSHOP CASE STUDIES
WG 7 – Reptiles and Amphibians
CASE STUDY 2
Cuora amboinensis
Country – INDONESIA
Date of record entry: 2023-10-02