On the 9th of January, 2014, Masarang was honored with a visit by the US ambassador to Indonesia, the honorable Robert Blake, and the US consul in Surabaya, Joaquin Monserrate. The ambassador was accompanied by his wife Sofie and their three daughters as well as around 100 officials of various institutions in North Sulawesi, amongst which the mayor of Manado.
After an introduction in the education center with presentations from the provincial head for forestry, Ir. Herry, the representative of the governor, Drs. Roring and Simon Purser and Dr.Ir. Willie Smits of Masarang, the visitors started an excursion around the 56 hectare compound of Tasikoki. A special coincidence happened when the night before a person was arrested in the harbor of Manado for drug smuggling. In his possession the police also encountered some 200 protected reptiles from Halmahera Island. These animals were confiscated and brought to Tasikoki and beneath here is a picture of the moment that these animals arrived at Tasikoki. The Ambassador just happened to mention before their arrival that one of the reasons President Obama supported action against wildlife trade was that there was an intricate connection between drug, weapon and animal smuggling! And spot on the proof arrived at our station!
From left to right US consul in Surabaya, Joaquin Monserrate, Ambassador Robert Blake, Tasikoki Animal Conservation Manager Simon Purser and Masarang Head Dr. Willie Smits.
On the right Ambassador Blake and the mayor of Manado looking at the reptiles in the bags and bottles noting the horrible conditions under which these animals are smuggled and how many die in the process.
Picture of the press conference held at Tasikoki. From left to right Dr. Willie Smits, Ambassador Robert Blake, Head of the provincial planning agency Mr. Roring and Dr. Vicky Lumentut (Mayor of Manado) and at the far right the secretary of the Minahasa Utara district where Masarang’s Tasikoki is located, Sandra Moniaga.
During the press conference Ambassador Blake praised the work of the Masarang Foundation and Tasikoki in the efforts to rehabilitate and protect wildlife and that the American Embassy was proud to support the work with an initial 25.000 USD. He applauded the good cooperation between Masarang and the forestry department and the police to stop the smuggling of animals from the nearby harbor of Bitung to the Philippines and other countries.
The Ambassador stated that on February 11th, 2014, President Barack Obama had issued the national American strategy to eradicate wildlife smuggling through the involvement of 17 governmental agencies with a focus on law enforcement, stopping demand for wildlife and developing international cooperation. Indonesia as the country with the worlds second highest biodiversity after Brasil is an important country to do this work also in view of the fast deforestation threatening the survival of many rare animal species. This is why America already signed the bilateral agreement with Indonesia to deal with animal smuggling.
During the press conference the mayor of Manado explained how shocked he was at the scale of the problems and he promised he would use his power to issue to programs to stop animal issues in his Manado city. The first one involves law enforcement in the harbor of Manado and at Manado airport to completely eradicate animal smuggling. Secondly he will issue a decree against the sale of any bushmeat in markets or restaurants in Manado. The ambassador thanked the mayor for his support.
After the official event the ambassador and his family took a trip around the compound visiting the many confiscated animals. Here is a picture of the ambassador and Willie Smits in front of the orangutan facility. The ambassador said he would come back soon to spend more time with us at Tasikoki.
It was a very good day for wildlife, for Tasikoki and for our Masarang Foundation!
Willie Smits, Tomohon, January 2015
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