G. M. Cadigal/Our Palawan 1 (1): 23 34 Our Palawan PALAWAN 3.pdf · Palawan P.O. Box 45 PPC 5300...

©2015 Palawan Council for Sustainable Development 23

Our Palawan The Scientific Journal of the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development

Research and Analysis: Sustainable Development Research/Biological Diversity

Available on-line at www.pkp.pcsd.gov.ph

1Project Development Officer, ECAN Zones Management Division, PCSDS

Address correspondence to: PCSD Building, Sports, Complex Road, Sta. Monica Heights, Puerto Princesa City,

Palawan P.O. Box 45 PPC 5300 Palawan, Philippines. Email: [email protected]

Keywords:

edible birds nest Nido swiftlets

Abstract

This paper seeks to describe, assess and evaluate the collection and trade of edible birds nest in theMunicipalities of Taytay and El Nido, areas stronghold of edible nest production in the province of Palawan, Philippines. Determining the swiftlet species,evaluating the nest collection, trade practices and existing regulatory mechanisms against thegovernment provisions on the conservation and management of caves resources and wildlife are the goals of the study. Such research objective aims to translate findings into policy recommendations for sustainable resource production and management. Issues and challenges such as overharvesting and poaching; declining nest production and quality; declining quality of bird residential habitat and food supply source due to (a) change in land use (conversion of forest to upland agriculture, plantations and clearing); (b) conflicting land use options against nest collection; and (c) use of pesticides from adjacent agriculture areas and tourism were documented. Establishment and implementation of open and close season for harvesting of edible nest is highlyrecommended to ensure sustainability of harvest and bird population.

Collection and Trade Dynamics of Edible Nest Swiftlet (Aerodramus fuciphagus Thunberg, 1812) Nest in Northern Palawan, Philippines

Glenda M. Cadigal1

G. M. Cadigal/Our Palawan 1 (1): 23-34

24 © 2015 Palawan Council for Sustainable Development

1. INTRODUCTION

Palawan Province, home to majorprotected areas and a declared UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Reserve (MAB) is safeguarded by a special law, Republic Act 7611 or the Strategic Environmental Plan (SEP) catering to the islands’ fragile configuration. SEP Law for Palawan evolve around the sustainable development concept as its resource management strategy.

Among the province’s unique ecosystem is the El Nido – Taytay Managed Resource Protected Area (ENTMRPA) in the municipalities of Taytay and El Nido in North Palawan. Unique limestone cliff of karst formation makes up most of the local islands, preferred habitats of the edible nest producing swiftlets providing one of the world’s most sought after and expensive animal products consumed by humans for over 400 years (Hobbs, 2004). The Edible Bird’s Nest (EBN) is highly popular to the Chinese forpharmaceutical applications and a delicacy believed to promote beauty and longevity (Lim, 2011 pers com).

The nests are built during the birds’ breeding season from December to June (Sheshnarayan, 2009) as the birds prepare for egg laying, using its interwoven saliva as the building block for nest weaving until it takes the shape of a shallow cup stuck to the cave wall.

Nest collection has been a practice in these areas for centuries. However, the actual volume of harvested products shipped out of the province has never been declared including the flow of monetary transaction and how much the industry is worth. The government’s laws, policies and conservation action on nest regulation and management is also not clear.

In the Philippines, there are two (2)national laws significant on birds and its habitat, Caves (RA 9072) and Wildlife (RA 9147). In April and May 2001 respectively, the administrative mandate for the implementation of these laws is relied to the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD).However, strict compliance to the provisions of these laws need to be examined in the view of sustainable development and species survival amidst anecdotal reports of declining nest supply and quality. The impending threat of a collapsing edible bird’s nest industry prompted this research in its attempt to provide the much needed answers for species conservation.

2. METHODOLOGY

This research is mainly a descriptiveand evaluative study. The study analyzed the practice of permitting regulation, nest collection and trade by the gatherers, concession holders, buyers and traders, and the local government units (LGU). Research inputs include the taxonomic identification of the swiftlet species by actual specimen collection and identification.

Cave locations were determined using a Global Positioning System to come up with an edible birds nest active caves map. The study sites covered the islands of Pandan, Pabellon Pequeno and Pabellon Grande in Taytay (Figure 1); Estar and Imorigue Cave Complex in Barangay Maytigued and Barangays New Ibajay and Bebeladan in El Nido, Palawan (Figure 2).

Figure 1. Location Map of Municipalities

of Taytay and El Nido, Palawan,

(2011)



Figure 2. Barangays of New Ibajay and Bebeladan in El Nido and Bgy.Maytigued, Taytay, Palawan asfocused study sites (Taytay and El Nido, Palawan, 2011)

of solidified saliva weaved for 35 days (Encyclopedia of Life, 2014; Jordan, 2004) and is collected to make bird's nest soup (Figure 3). Local respondents from the study site observed that nests are made by both male and female birds in a simultaneous manner, each working on two (2) ends of the nest cup.

As a group, Aerodramus swiftlets are distributed very broadly, with species occurring in southern continental Asia, the Philippines, Indo-Australian archipelago, to north Australia, west and southwest Pacific and on islands in the South Pacific and Indian Oceans (Government of Italy, 1994; EOL, 2014). The species is native to Brunei, Cambodia, Mainland China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste and Vietnam in which all are reported to be extant.


Figure 3. (a) Nest of edible-nest swiftlet and (b) nest and eggs (Photos courtesy of Jovic Fabello )

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The edible-nest swiftlet (Aerodramus fuciphagus) is a small bird of the swift family found in South-east Asia. These swallow-like birds are closely related to hummingbirds, which are able to navigate through dark caves using echolocation. The bird produces nest attached on the walls of caves made

The study utilized interview approach using a semi-structured questionnaire, Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and Key Informant Survey (KIS). All three (3) concession contract holders in Taytay and El Nido and 36 gatherers and traders served as respondents for study.

(b)

(a)


Considered as the most aerial of birds, a common swift can cruise at a maximum speed of 31 meters per second or 112 km/hr, 70 mph (Piper, 2007). The legs, as with many swifts, are very short, preventing the birds from perching, but allowing them to cling to vertical surfaces. The flight is mainly gliding due to very long primary feathers and small breast muscles. Aerodramus swiftlets, depend-ing on species, weigh 8–35 grams (0.28–1.23 oz) and are 9–16 centimetres (0.28–1.23 inches) long (EOL, 2014; Chantler and Driessens, 2000).

Aerodramus are aerial insectivores, which take prey on insects such as flies, attacking on the wings. They roost and breed in caves; during the day they leave the caves to forage for food, and return to roost at night. They are monogamous and both partners take part in caring for the nestlings. The breeding season overlaps the wet season, which corresponds to an increased insect population (EOL, 2014; Chantler and Driessens, 2000). In the Philippines, observed breeding season occurs from the months of May to November during the wet periods. An observed fidelity to the roosting site was documented based on anecdotal information from respondents, wherein the same pair will construct the nest exactly where it was first created. The same spot will be continuously utilized as long as it is not disturbed and remain in the cave and birds do not migrate (EOL, 2014). No population trend has been recorded for the species, however, the population is suspected to be in decline owing to over harvesting of eggs and nestlings (Birdlife, 2014; Del Hoyo et al., 1999).

Birdlife International in 2014 estimated the extent of area covered by the bird utilized for breeding / residence to cover as much as 1,650,000 square kilometers (km2). The species soars at cave locations with an altitude of 0-2,800 meters above sea level for breeding. Sea cliffs and rocky offshore islands, subtropical/tropical moist lowland areas, subtropical/tropical moist montane, and tropical dry shrub lands are mostly utilized for residence including feeding. Based on Langham’s assessment in 2008, it can be described that 2.74 to 4.12 hours per day are spent foraging on aerial insects. Microhabitat use are of >10 m above forest canopy, or >30 m above ground elevation. Therefore, deforestation near and distant from caves used by swiftlets for breeding can severely affect the wild population of the species (Manchi

and Sankaran, 2010) by dictating the level of availability of food sources. Information on the habitat preference, feeding and breeding requirements of the species contributes in determining site species factors that dictate species breeding success. This information will provide management conservation solutions to re-engineer the conservation efforts for the species.

The breeding seasonality of theedible–nest swiftlets is strongly linked with rainfall (Sheshnarayan, 2009). Northern Palawan’s condition is of Type I climate wherein there are two pronounced seasons, wet and dry, with maximum rain period from June to September and a dry season which lasts from 3 to 6 months (Moog, 2005). Here, rainfall occurs mostly during the southwest monsoon (“Habagat”) season prevailing during the rainy months of June to September. Sheshnarayan’s study in 2009 showed that the species mostly copulate on the nest producing 2 eggs as a nor-mal clutch with many birds laying second clutches (75%) and some third clutches (15-4%) using the same nest (Langham, 2008). Incubation period is 23 ± 3days, while fledging periods is 43 + 6 day. Total days requirement from incubation to fledging is 78 ± 3 days or almost 2.6 months.

Protection Status

Aerodramus fuciphagus (Figure 4) is classified under Least Concern by IUCN justified by its extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of


Figure 4. Edible Nest Swiftlet (A. fuciphagus) (Source: planetbirds.blogspot.com)


twenty percent (20%) for the PCSDS for the purpose of providing administrative and technical assistance and information dissemination campaign; (b) management contracts with birds nest concessionaires/managers must be through competitive bidding or expression of interest to conserve, manage and utilize/collect edible birds nest subject to the terms and conditions of PCSD; and (c) PCSD to issue a final approval of permits for the collection and removal of cave resources including edible birds nest. However, PCSD approval and issuance of collection permits is not being fully implemented.

Likewise, there is no provision on collection quota or collection schedule imposed to the concessionaires. A prescribed collection season, however, was documented from the issuance by the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources Administrative Order No. 1 approved on July 31, 1929 by Governor General Dwight F. Davis imposing a close season for nest collection beginning May 01 to June 30. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Community Environment and Natural Resources Officer (DENR-CENRO)- Taytay, based on several communications to Taytay LGU in 1986, likewise prescribed a close season of 01 April to June 30 of every year.

In Taytay, a concession contract is awarded to a sole concessionaire, while in El Nido, aside from a concession contract, individual collection permits are issued by the LGU. For both municipalities, there is usually a financier funding the payment of lease contracts. The concessionaire acts as a manager of the concession and serves as the legal personality to enter into an agreement with the LGU. The manager/concessionaire maintains a set of his/her collectors and initially provides for their food and other needs while in the concession areas. During harvests, the busyadors or nest collectors sell the entire harvest to the concessionaire who will deduct the expenses for food and other cash advances by the collectors. The concessionaire makes an average of Php 10.00 per gram profit upon selling to the financier. Security is also being maintained to guard the caves, which are either paid by the busyadors or they guard the islands themselves.

Nest Collection and Preparation

Harvesting or collection of nests commences upon the awarding of the lease


occurrence <20,000 km2). There was, however, an attempt to include the species under CITES in 1994 but received oppositions from nest producing countries. Currently, the only protection of the species in the Philippines is provided under Republic Act 9147 otherwise known as the Wildlife Protection and Conservation Act which provides for the regulated collection, possession and trade of threatened, non-threatened wildlife and wildlife by-products and derivatives in the entire country without appropriate permit.

Edible Nest Importance, Uses and Benefits

A full cup size edible birds nest approximately weigh 14-15 grams and measures 3 to 4 inches in its entire length. Nest class are classified into four (4) as follows: Class A - First (1st) Class, also called “Primera” and commands the highest market value; Class AB - Second (2nd) Class, also called “Buena”; Class B - Third (3rd) Class, also called “Segunda”; Class C- Fourth (4th) Class; and Class D (5th class) or “Sinisa” bits and pieces of nest and what is left off as a result of the cleaning process. Anecdotal accounts of the research respondents show that the color or clarity of the nest is dependent on the depth of the nesting site, the deeper and the darker the caves, the higher the quality of the nest the birds will produce.

Nest Collection Regulation

Available literature shows that edible birds nest collection in Taytay, Palawan are practiced as early as or even before 1927 when Act No. 3379 which authorized the municipalities to impose license taxes from the privilege of gathering edible bird’s nests, was enacted on December 3, 1927. Thus, the local governments of Taytay and El Nido had been entering into concession agreements through bidding of concession contracts for the exclusive privilege to collect/gather edible birds nest. However, following the enactment of the Wildlife Act (Republic Act 9147) and Caves Act (Republic Act 9072) in 2001, these laws mandated the management of wildlife, caves and cave resources in the province of Palawan to the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD). The LGUs of Taytay and El Nido and PCSD entered into a Memorandum of Agreement in 2005 authorizing the LGUs to issue concession contracts subject to the following: (a) the revenue derived from the gathering and utilization of edible birds nest shall accrue in a General Fund Special Account of the Municipal Government to be allocated as follows: eighty percent (80%) LGU share and


agreement between the LGU and the winning bidder which usually happens in December. In Taytay, collection starts in January of each year. There are seven (7) collection periods as practiced, observing a 15 days interval between harvests. First harvest is made between January 18-21 followed by February 6-8; February 25-27; March 15-17; March 31-April 2; April 15-17 and April 30- May 2 for the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh harvest respectively. After the 7th collection, the busyadors refrain from further collection and observes a rest period called as “palipad”. During the palipad, the birds are allowed to continuously lay their eggs until fledging. The next collection resumes on the last week of December called as “limpiada” meaning to clean. During limpiada, the nests utilized by the birds for hatching are removed. Given that the birds will be utilizing the same spot for nesting, the area is intended to be free from the old utilized nest in preparation for the next harvest season.

The busyadors refer to the process of actual collection as suot. The deep and dark crevices are manually penetrated using bamboo ladders, ropes, lighted bamboo poles or flashlight tied to the head and a makeshift stick with a bended fork with string on one end is used to remove the attached nest from wall. There is no safety equipment provided for the collectors considering the hazards of collection. After each collection, the busyadors prepare the “sahing” or a lighted pagsahingin (Canarium asperium var asperium) resin stuck and lighted on one end of a stick and made to exude smoke. The smoke is believed to remove the smell of the busyadors who entered which deters the birds to build nest in the nesting areas. Similarly, busyadors in Taytay mentioned that they do not allow gatherers to enter the caves if they are wearing perfumes.

During harvest period, the caves are well guarded to prevent nest poaching. However, it is believed that it is also the busyadors who are stealing the nest and selling to other buyers, because it is they who are knowledgeable on the location and the actual number of nests per cave hole. The busyadors are forced to steal the nest because of cash advances from the concessionaire. If they will wait for the timed harvesting period, they are forced to sell their harvests to the concessionaire who will automatically deduct such cash advanced, therefore, there will be very little amount left for their family. Nest stealing is the major problem identified by both the concessionaires and the

busyadors. This is also the reason that the harvesting interval is shortened to 15 days. A prolonged harvesting interval requires employing guards adding up on cost. It was also mentioned by individual collectors inBarangay Bebeladan that they prefer to advance nest collection than be stolen from them.However, with this practice, the birds are forced to reconstruct the nests. which (a) leads to further stress to the wildlife which may affect its health condition; (b) will not allow the bird to lay a clutch in the absence of a nest; and (c) will not give ample time for the chicks to fledge, therefore, will not provide a replacement generation of nest-producing birds.

On the other hand, nest collection in El Nido particularly in Estar/Star Cave Complex concession starts with the limpiada done in January. All collected nests are sold to the financier. First harvesting starts in the 3rd week of February, between February 20-23. During this time, the nest collected is about 1 inch in width by 2.5 inches in length. Harvest takes an approximately four (4) days to cover an entire concession. The busyadors will return for the second to sixth harvest every after 15 days until the last week of May, particularly during March 15-18; March 30-Apri 1; April 15-18 and May 30-June 1. After the last harvest of June until the last week of August, the birds will be allowed to breed to observe palipad. The seventh collection will be made between September 1-3 which is called “naliparan” or abandoned nests, after which, the caves are left to rest until December. The use of “sahing” is also practiced in El Nido. Collection in Imorigue Island concession in Taytay is made every 15th day of the month starting fromJanuary 15 to July 15 completing a seven harvesting period with 30 days interval.

Individual nest collection isconcentrated in Barangay Bebeladan. Here, gatherers collect nest size of just over one (1) centimeter in width, weaved for approximately 10 days, which they called “ballpen”, adopting from the diameter of a ball point pen. This is said to be practiced in times when they cannot afford to pay for guards to look after the caves. They felt that if they do not collect the nests, someone else will, so they became thieves themselves. Harvesting season in Bebeladan is more intense than that of the other concession areas in El Nido. Here, collection starts in the last week of January, then followed by the second collection during the last week of February. However, succeeding collections start mid of March until June completing the 10



collection period observing a 15 days interval in between harvests.

Volume of Nest Collection

The volume of total nest collected is never officially reported, neither the concessionaire nor the individual collectors to either the local government or to the PCSD. There is also no reporting mechanism requiring the concessionaires to comply. As such, the actual volume of collected nests produced from each cave cannot be precisely determined. Therefore, the estimated volume of production were derived from: (a) harvest record of busyadors sold to the concessionaire; and (b) record of caves with active nest holes frequented by birds as documented by past concessionaires. Records of nest sites were used to extrapolate the volume of harvest using 3.33 grams per nest estimate.

Based on the extrapolated information from the survey results, the total volume of harvested edible birds nest in Taytay is 80.5 kilograms (kg) and 62.03 kg in 2011 and 2014, respectively. However, concentrating in Pabellon islands alone, the total harvest is recorded at 63 kg and 62.03 kg in 2011 and 2014, respectively. The total estimated bird population in Taytay in 2011 and 2014 is 5,400 individuals and 5,316 individuals, respectively, with a computed decline of 1.55% in three (3)


years. Neither the global, nor regional (country or province) population of Aerodramus fuciphagus has been quantified (IUCN, 2014). As such, IUCN in its latest assessment version 3.1 in 2001 classified the species as Least Concern due to the species’ extremely large range of occurrence. It was however, recognized that the harvesting of nests remains a threat to the species and the population trend is decreasing.

Nest Production, and Marketing

The famous Edible Bird’s Nest harvestedin Taytay and El Nido, Palawan is highly sought for in the market. El Nido in particular was able to set its branding on the product as source of high quality nests and thus commands high price (E. Lim, 2011, pers comm). As such, even the bird’s nest collected from Sabah in Malaysia enters Palawan through the backdoor passing through El Nido and declared as El Nido “Balinsasayaw” nests (Maximo 2011, pers comm.). The process of nest cleaning is usually done by the women members of the family of the busyadors. Nest are either sold as is (as collected) or cleaned. Nest cleaning starts by soaking in water to loosen the strands. Then using a tweezor or a forceps will manually remove the feathers and other impurities. The nests are then air dried and are ready for trade. The selling and buying ranges and averages is shown in Table 1.

Seller Gatherers / Busyador

Buyer Local Concessionaire/

Buyer/Trader

Nest Class A AB/B C

Price Range (PHP) / kg 70,000 - 150,000 60,000-100,000 30,000-90,000

Average Price (PHP)/ kg 100,000 70,000 50,000

Seller Local Concessionaire/

Buyer/Trader

Buyer

Local Financiers / Chinatown/ Chinese

Clients in Manila

Nest Class A AB/B C

Price Range (PHP) / kg 150,000-175,000 90,000-140,000 80,000-90,000

Average Price (PHP)/ kg, (A) 160,000 120,000 85,000

Profit Margin (%)based on (A) 37.50 41.67 41.18

Traha (%) 30 40 - 50 70

Resiko (%) 70 40 - 50 30

Note: Traha pertains to percentage weight loss; Resiko pertains to the net weight left

Table 1. Selling and Buying Rates of Edible Birds Nest (EBN) in Taytay and El Nido, Palawan (2014)


Nest collected by the busyadors are directly sold to the concessionaires. The concessionaire then sells the nests to thefinanciers with additional Php 10.00/gram or Php 10,000/kg mark up. The financiers sell the nest to Chinese families or directly delivered to Chinatown in Binondo, Manila at an average price of Php 160,000/kg, Php 120,000/kg and Php 85,000/kg for Class A, AB/B and C respectively. The traders enjoy an average of 37% profit for Class A and 41% for Class AB/B and C (Figure 3). The buying price is dictated by the buyer. In weighing nests, the buyer deducts percentage losses called “traha” to cover losses from moisture and other impurities. What is left will be the net weight called “resiko”.

Trade Routes and Product Destination

Most of the EBN collected fromTaytay and El Nido are mainly brought toChinatown in Binondo, Manila and are sold to either the local market or to other international destinations. A small percentage however is either (a) directly ordered by wealthy Chinese families in the City of Puerto Princesa or in Metro Manila; or (b) shipped by small boats to the neighboring province of Mindoro and Batangas before transporting to Manila. Nest collected from other municipalities of Palawan such as Coron and Busuanga in the Calamianes Group of Islands are either directly flown to Manila by plane or by boat or transported to El Nido before going to Manila. This is somehow practiced to tag the commodity as El Nido harvest if it is delivered to clients coming from El Nido.

Similarly, harvests from Tawi-Tawi are transported to Brooke’s Point in South Palawan and shipped to Puerto Princesa City or El Nido before transporting to Manila. This is also true for products from Sabah, Malaysia which arrive in Balabac, Palawan or Rio Tuba in Bataraza, Palawan then moved to Puerto Princesa or El Nido before transporting to Manila. In the absence of declared transport data of EBN, a detailed production trend cannot be established. The only available trade volume is those passing through the regulation mechanism of PCSD which started in 2012. The figures are actual volume issued with local transport permit (LTP) from nine (9) PCSD-issued Wildlife Special Use Permit holders. Annual total traded volume recorded is 29.914 kg; 130.825 kg and 200.403 kg for 2012, 2013 and 2014 respectively. The volume however includes nests coming from Tawi-Tawi and

transported to Manila passing through Palawan. Further, an additional 32.557 kg of imported birds nest from Malaysia was also recorded.

Issues and Challenges to the Edible Birds Nest Industry in Palawan

a. Uncontrolled Nest Harvesting by poaching

Nest poaching is the major problemreported by all respondents. However, nest poachers continue to collect even during the breeding season, forcing the birds to continuously rebuild its nest, thereby exhausting its energy that would have been utilized for foraging and breeding.

b. Declining nest production

A 54.95% decrease in bird population was documented in Imorigue Island from 2000 to 2011. However, an increase of 67% was recorded in Estar/Cave Complex. Since the two (2) caves are located in the same barangay, it may be true to the claim of some respondents that the birds migrate to other areas if disturbed in their original nesting site. However, the population increase in one area is not


Figure 3. Edible nests (a) Class A; and (b) Class C, ready for trade (Photos courtesy of Jovic Fabello)

(a)

(b)


commensurate to the decrease in another to establish site migration.

c. Change in land use (from forest to uplandagriculture, plantations and clearing) affecting the quality of residential habitat and food supply

Destruction of the adjacent forest area by slash and burn and clear cutting or conversion of forest to agriculture may have contributed to altering the foraging grounds of the birds. Habitat fragmentation forces the birds to consume more energy to transfer to suitable foraging areas thus uses up energy that may be utilized for breeding activities such as nest building. The birds are also forced to travel long distances in search of food for themselves and for their chicks. Long flight onwards to the foraging areas and on their way back consumes energy of the parent and prevents them from feeding their chicks in time which may result to death and or delayed fledging.

d. Conflicting Land Use

The presence of an adjacent tourism establishment in Barangay Bebeladan, specifically El Nido Resorts by Ten Knots Development Corporation is seen by the respondents as a deterrent to the bird population. It was observed by the respondents that the population of the birds decreased when the resort conducted its regular fogging activities to minimize the population of mosquitoes. Some caves frequented by tourist are also said to be disturbed and caused the birds to leave the nesting sites. Use of fertilizers and pesticide on variety of insects preyed by birds may also have negative effects on the swiftlets population and thus needs further studies.

e. Unregulated collection

There is no definite conservation action that needs to be complied as a condition of the lease contract. Specifically, a black and white provision on the observance of a close harvesting season has not been mentioned. Though the concessionaires are required to submit a monthly collection report to the LGU and the PCSD, this has not been complied and monitored by both government agencies.

f. Lax implementation of government policiesand regulations on cave and cave resources conservation

In spite of the allocation of a portion of government income from cave concessions, the local government units have not initiated any

concrete cave conservation programs to ensure the sustainability of the industry. The PCSD on the other hand has started initial assessment of edible bird’s active caves in 2011 but the action was limited to the identification of economically important caves for edible birds nest. Such identification needs PCSD adoption for declaration but has not yet been acted upon to date. Formulation of cave management plans is also lacking. The PCSD is likewise bounded to ensure that nest collection shall be subjected to a permit, however, only one (1) out of the three (3) concessionaires has been issued a collection permit. Further, though some traders have been issued trade permits, few are still engaging in collection and trade without PCSD permits. The PCSD started to regulate the collection and transport of edible birds nest in Palawan in 2012. At present, there are nine (9) Wildlife Special Use Permit (WSUP) holders for collection and direct trade; one (1) trader and one (1) concessionaire. However, per Section 19 of PCSD AO 12, before an economically important non-threatened wildlife is regulated for collection and trade, the PCSD needs to declare the species as an economically important wildlife. Unless the PCSD identifies the species as such, the issu-ance of a WSUP for the collection and direct trade of the EBN stands as incongruent to the provision of the Wildlife Act or R.A.9147.

4. CONCLUSION AND POLICYIMPLICATION

The links between environment and

people’s well-being is straight forward; it is clear that the environment plays a complex but crucial part in livelihood strategies. Therefore, many of the pressures on the environment that threaten the survival of the birds, their habitats and biodiversity will also have adverse effects on local communities dependent on them.Unsustainable use of natural resources can deepen poverty as essential resources are exhausted and services and functions of natural ecosystems are destroyed or diminished.

Such is the case of the edible–nest swiftlets in which the impending threat of system collapse is not far in the future should the current harvesting pattern is not addressed. There is a need, therefore, to prioritize the conservation of the swiftlets and sustainable harvest of their nests. The valuable resource of the edible birds’ nests therefore, cannot be managed sustainably in an environment of greed and neglect. Recognizing this premise, the following recommendations are herein presented as conservation options:



Management and Governance

The goal of management should be to ensure the conservation of swiftlets and that nest harvest is sustainable. Annual recruitment of cave populations is necessary to achieve sustainability, and that each pair should be able to produce at the least, one brood fledging per year at the optimal season.

1. Extended contract leases

Consideration should be given, for the granting of clearly defined, long-termrights e.g. minimum of five (5) years to concessionaires. Short-term renewal of lease for collection contracts will only drive the concessionaires to harvest as many as possible to maximize profit within the short life span of the contract and when there is no possibility or assurance of obtaining future lease contracts, there is no incentive for conservation.

2. Review of basis for LGU prescribed bidaward

The opening bid amount should be reviewed and be able to provide sound justification for its prescription. Production records could provide useful information in determining the trend of species population and

volume. Gatherers, to be able to meet the contracted amount, will be forced to collect nest at every opportunity to compensate for the financial obligations to the government, and at the same time earn a profit.

3. Imposition of an Open and CloseCollection Season with strict collection schedule

A collection season will allow the birds sufficient time to complete the breeding cycle and maximize clutch development. A collection calendar is herein presented in Table 2 for this purpose. The close season is there-fore proposed to commence every last week of April until third week of December. The birds may produce up to a maximum of three (3) clutches with a minimum of 2.6 months requirement for incubation and fledging, and additional weeks for mating and egg laying at which all stages utilize the nest. Collection timing is recommended to a maximum of three (3) harvests at four (4) weeks interval. This is to allow the birds to complete the average 35 days to complete building a full cup nest without much pressure to rebuild a new one every time an uncompleted nest is taken.

Table 2. Recommended EBN Harvesting Calendar for Taytay and El Nido (2014)


Table 2. Recommended Edible Bird's Nest Harvesting Calendar for Taytay and El Nido, 2014January February March April May June July August September October November December

Activities w1 w2w3 w4 w1 w2 w4w3w4 w1w2 w3 w4 w1 w2 w3 w4 w1 w2 w3 w4 w1w2 w3 w4 w1 w2 w3 w4 w1 w2 w3 w4 w1 w2 w3 w4 w1 w2 w3 w4 w1 w2 w3 w4 w1 w2 w3 w4

"Unang

Suot"/

First

Harvest

"Pangalaw

ang Suot"

/ 2nd

Harvest

"Pangatlo

ng Suot"

/ 3rd

Harvest

Close

Season

Limpiada

OPEN SEASON December 4th week to April 4th week with three (3) prescribed collections

CLOSE SEASON April 4th week to December 3rd week


Administration

1. The Bureau of Customs or the Department ofTrade and Industry and other relevantgovernment agency maintaining trade statistics should strictly monitor international trade to secure data that may be used as inputs for management interventions.

2. The PCSD as the mandated agency for theimplementation of Wildlife Act should be the lead agency for administering legislation, controlling the harvest and trade regulation of the edible birds nest to be assisted by the LGUs. To this effect, the existing MOA between the LGUs and PCSD crafted in 2005 should be revisited to ensure compliance.

3. The PCSD should start the process of thedeclaration of the species as Economically Important to conform to the provisions of RA 9147 on the issuance of collection and trade permit. A thorough inventory and evaluation of edible birds nest concessionaires, collectors, buyer and traders should be made and to impose the “no wildlife permit, no operation” scheme.

4. Standardize nest classification should becrafted alongside with price regulation along the market chain to ensure distribution of equal benefits especially for the marginalized nest collectors.

Industry

An organized group of EBN industry players in each municipality must be created to constitute a unified representation of the EBN gatherers, concessionaires, buyers and traders. The same group will represent an organized entity in dealing with the government thatissues applicable harvesting regulation instrument and which will police themselves. The organized group may be affiliated with other regional and international organizations of nest producers to be able to share knowledge on good practices and product handling among others.

Education and Awareness

The need to inform the community on the welfare and importance of the species at the moment is highly warranted. Conservation is more effective and sustainable with the engagement of the government and the support of local people.


Species Management

1. Monitoring of cave populations

Trade data or number of nesting harvests gives minimum estimates of total population size. Population estimates will provide management of monitoring information leading to appropriate intervention. Once a stable population can be established as a result of monitoring and sustainable harvests, other options such as venturing into birds nest farming can be explored. Nest farming captures existing bird population, providing alternative breeding areas through luring by bird calls. Venturing into these initiatives without ensuring a stable population will just lure the same bird population to migrate into commercial bird houses.

2. Protection of the foraging habitats

Strict protection of adjacent forest areas vegetation is desirable to ensure available food source for the birds owing to a richer source of aerial insects in the forest (Hobbs, 2003). This may also be related to the observed population decline due to birds feeding from agriculture areas loaded with pesticides in the absence of contiguous vegetation.

3. Inclusion of the species in CITES Appendix II for trade regulation

The PCSD as the CITES Management Authority of the Philippines for Palawan may revive the 1994 proposal for the species’ inclusion to CITES Appendix II. Species under CITES II are provided with trade quota and requires source certification that the species was collected in a sustainable manner non-detrimental to its survival. Further, illegal trade may be lessened if not totally curtailed with the assistance of other CITES member countries.

4. Added Value for Nest Post Harvests

The birds’ nest industry should collaborate with government agencies and the academe to explore nest post-harvest processing to include value added product intervention and ensuring product safety and quality considering that the product is intended for human consumption. This will also provide additional income for the community and will elevate the participation of local gath-erers from nest collectors to product handler. Product certification should be explored to lessen the risk for product quality failure in the international market.



ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The author wishes to express her utmost gratitude to the following:

PCSDS family: Office of the Executive Director, Director Lualhati E. Tabugon, the ECAN Policy and Research Division – J. Pontillas, J. Fabello, R.Cruz, M.Dela Cruz and C.Jalover, R.Maximo of Taytay and El Nido District Management Office;

Office of the Mayor and Sangguniang Bayan of Taytay and El Nido; the concession-aires, gatherers and traders of Taytay and El Nido; the Barangay officials of New Ibajay, Bebeladan and Maytigued;

Thesis committee Dr. Ramon Docto, Dr. Ronald Edilberto Ona, Prof and Dean Sonia Banagua; and adviser Dr. Patrick Regoniel.

REFERENCES

Anon. 2014. Benefits of consuming bird’s nest, a treasured health supplement. www.longchue birdsnest . com. Downloaded 28 July 2014.

Birdlife International. 2014. Species Factsheet: Aerodramus fuciphagus. Downloaded from www.birdlife.org. Accessed on 27/07/2014.

BirdLife International (2015) Species Factsheet: Aerodramus fuciphagus. Down-loaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 31/05/2015. Recommended citation for fact-sheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2015) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 31/05/2015.

Chantler, P., and Driessens, G. 2000. Swifts: a Guide to the Swifts and Trees Swifts of the World. Mountfield, East Sussex: Pica Press. ISBN 1-873403-83-6.

CITES. 1996. Doc. 10.50 (Rev.) Annex 1 Resolution Conference. 9.15 Of the Conference of the Parties. Conservation of Edible-nest Swiftlets of the Genus Collocalia.

Del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., and Sargatal, J. 1999.Handbook of the Birds of the World, vol. 5: Barn-owls to Hummingbirds. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.

Encyclopedia of Life (EOL). 2014. Crisis is an opportunity. http://www.swiftletecopark.com.my/knowledge_articles_crisis.htm.Aerodramus Cave Swiftlets.

Government of Italy. 1994. Proposal for the inclusion of Collocalia spp. in CITES.

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Conference of the Parties of the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna Fort Lauderdale (United States of America ), 7-18 November 1994.

Hobbs, J.J. 2004. Problems in the harvest of edible birds’ nests in Sarawak and Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Biodiversity and Conservation 13: 2209-2226.

Jordan, D. 2004. Globalisation and Bird's Nest Soup. International Development Planning Review, Volume 26, Number 1, Liverpool University Press.

Langham, N. 2008. Breeding Biology of the Edible – Nest Swiftlet Aerodramusfuciphagus. School of Natural Resources, University of the South Pacific, P.O. Box 1168, Suva, Fiji.

Lim, E. 2011. Personal Communication with E. Lim, Edible Birds Nest Buyer/Trader. Poblacion, El Nido, Palawan. February 23, 2011.

Manchi, S.S. and Sankaran, R. 2010. Foraging Habits and Habitat Use by Edible-nest and Glossy Swiftlets in the Andaman Islands, India. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 122(2):259-272.2010.

Maximo, R. 2011. Personal Communication with R. Maximo, District Management Officer, Taytay-El Nido, Palawan. February 2011.

Moog, F. 2005. Edited by J.M Suttie and S.G. Reynolds and slightly modified by S.G. Reynolds in October 2006. Country Pasture/Forage Resource Profiles. Food and Agriculture Office, Regional Working Group on Grazing and Feed Resources for Southeast Asia.

Piper, R. 2007. Extraordinary Animals: An Encylopedia of Curious and Unusual Animals, Greenwood Press.

Republic Act 9147. 2001. An act providing tor the conservation and protection of wildlife resources and their habitats, appropriating funds therefore and for other purposes.

Sheshnarayan, M. S. 2009. Breeding Ecology of the Edible-nest Swiftlet Aerodramus fu-ciphagus and the Glossy Swiftlet Collocalia esculenta in the Andaman Islands, India. Ph.D. thesis, Bharathiar University, Coim-batore for the Degree of Doctor of Philoso-phy in Zoology. Sálim Ali Centre for Orni-thology and Natural History Coimbatore 641 108.

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G. M. Cadigal/Our Palawan 1 (1): 23 34 Our Palawan PALAWAN 3.pdf · Palawan P.O. Box 45 PPC 5300...

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