The Critically Endangered maleo bird (Macrocephalon maleo) is a remarkable megapode that lays a single large egg at a time in the sand at communal nesting areas on beaches or geothermal sites in Sulawesi, Indonesia. Since 2006, the Alliance for Tompotika Conservation (AlTo) has partnered with local villagers who have voluntarily agreed to end the poaching of maleo eggs. This collaborative effort has been highly successful in helping maleo populations recover—at all three sites where AlTo has implemented this approach, maleo numbers are increasing.
In 2019, AlTo had the opportunity to purchase coastal land hosting critical maleo nesting grounds near Pangkalaseang village, leading to the establishment of the Panganian Nature Conservation Area (also known as the Panganian Preserve). Since the preserve's establishment, maleo numbers at the site have quadrupled. The preserve also hosts nesting sea turtles and several other threatened species, including tarsiers, Tonkean macaques, and various birds.
Maleos. Photo credit- Alliance for Tompotika Conservation
However, in addition to safe nesting areas, maleos require large tracts of native Sulawesi forest for non-breeding habitat, as well as safe natural corridors to travel between these habitats and the nesting areas. These areas are under threat in Tompotika, especially in recent years, as global demand for nickel—used in electric vehicle batteries—has surged, prompting a "nickel rush" of forest-destroying mining activities. Although the transition away from fossil fuels toward "cleaner" energy is crucial, it is unfortunately driving a boom in environmentally damaging mining.
At the Panganian Preserve, the forested corridor that maleos use to travel between the nesting grounds and their non-breeding habitat in the Tompotika peninsula's interior has been in jeopardy. Maleos typically travel a few kilometers on foot along a low ridge-top to reach the Panganian nesting ground, but if this passageway were to be developed or converted, their access to the newly safeguarded nesting ground would be destroyed. To prevent this, AlTo has been negotiating with local landowners—most of whom live in nearby villages and own only a few hectares of this undeveloped land—to purchase as much of this forested corridor as possible, ensuring the maleos’ access to their nesting area is preserved forever.
Forest habitat protected as part of the corridor acquisition for the Panganian Nature Conservation Area. Photo credit- Alliance for Tompotika Conservation
This QRFN grant has enabled AlTo to purchase 16 hectares of strategically located land within this critical corridor to ensure that maleos will have safe, natural vegetation through which to travel to and from their nesting area. Negotiating the purchase with eight different landowners took considerable time, but QRFN’s rapid funding response made the acquisition possible once the deals were finalized.
While the purchase of these 16 hectares does not protect the entire corridor, its strategic location makes the entire corridor less suitable for large-scale projects like mining or development. It is a great relief to have these 16 hectares safely protected. However, maleos are very sensitive, and even small-scale conversions for farms or dwellings can drive them away. AlTo hopes to continue acquiring as much of this critical corridor as possible and gain stronger protection for the nearby forest interior so that maleos can continue their recovery and one day become healthy and abundant, well-known, and celebrated as Sulawesi’s beloved avian mascot and the pride of this local community.
Written by Marcy Summers (AlTo) and edited by Sanjiv Fernando (QRFN)
