Palawan Wildlife Trade: An Alarming Issue

When I was a young child in my hometown in Palawan, I dreamt on how I could contribute to conservation efforts like saving the last remaining tracts of forests or protecting threatened species. I ended up doing all these, living the life that I had once dreamed and enjoying each day of my life as a field officer of the Katala Foundation.

In 2004, I was assigned to the town of Jose P. Rizal 230 kms south of Puerto Princesa City in Palawan. The lush forest and rugged mountains connected with the mangroves, a rare and unique site in the Philippines where one can observe such a panoramic view. What really excited me were the magnificent wildlife species thriving in the trees and wetlands in Rizal at that time, waiting to be explore by me. On my way to our project site in Culasian, Rizal, an unforgettable event happened that spoiled my trip. A tricycle driver asked me something that almost changed my impression about the area. He asked "Sir, I am selling Pikoy and a couple of Kiaw, I just thought maybe you would be interested in having these beautiful birds? It would not cost you much. You can have it for only P50.00/head". Hearing this, I showed no interest until the moment he said that "I also sell other species in huge volumes depending on the demand of interested parties. If you are interested, look for me." Upon hearing all of these, a bigger issue arose in my thought.

In 2005, Program Leader and Field Biologist Peter Widmann together with the Katala Foundation launched the Southern Palawan Anti-Poaching Initiative. The project aim is to address poaching activities and illegal wildlife trade in Southern Palawan. The main component of the project is to identify an area that still holds critical population of cavity nesting animals involved in the pet trade and conserve the species. After few months of nesting tree verification and mapping, a suitable area of conservation importance was identified and established locally through a municipal resolution. Conservation education was also implemented to heighten the level of awareness of local people towards conservation.

Thirteen former poachers were identified and converted into wildlife wardens. Their primary duty is to safeguard the nesting trees and to conduct patrol and monitoring inside the 1,954 hectares of Culasian Managed Resource Protected Area.

In 2006, 4,606 pieces of wildlife were confiscated in Palawan. Majority of the wildlife confiscated allegedly originated from the southern part of the province. The series of confiscations from well-known traders showed the alarming picture of massive wildlife trafficking, continuous and increasing annually. An estimated 1,252 heads of different wildlife were apprehended in just a span of three months in 2006. Apart from that, 39 wildlife traders from the two big trade rims operating in Palawan identified. The target species are Philippine cockatoo Cacatua heamaturopygia, Blue-naped parrot Tanygnathus lucionensis , Palawan bearded pig Sus aheonobarbus, Balabac mouse-deer Trugalus nigricans, freshwater turtles, beetles Dorcus titanus palawanicus and even timber were being poached to supply the growing demand in local and international market(Cruz, et al., in prep.).

Palawan is perceived of having "the empty forest syndrome", having an intact forest but with no animal dwellers because of hunting pressure, poaching and trading. This is evident in Southern Palawan. Wildlife trade species were formerly widespread throughout the archipelago but in recent years, many of these had suffered in traumatic population decline. Many of these species were already listed under IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species and some of them could eventually perish in the next couple of years. The critically endangered Philippine cockatoo or Katala is only now restricted to small islands in Palawan and Sulu. Rasa Island Wildlife Sanctuary in Narra, Palawan was the last remaining stronghold of the Katala population in the world Dexterous poachers from the local tribe collected this bird to supply the traders every breeding season from December to July. Lately, even the rearing parent birds have been targetted. Poaching and trading is illegal and totally prohibited by RA 9147 otherwise known as Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act of 2001and other forestry laws in this country. The question remain, is there really somebody paying attention to this issue? Is there someone getting paid or maybe a lot of them are being paid to look the other way?

Wildlife trade is an alarming issue that needs utmost attention and action not only by NGOs and government agencies but by everyone who love and are passionate enough to conserve and protect wildlife. Once gone, it is gone forever! Protecting other species would not only ensure their survival, but our own as well. After all, everything on this planet is interconnected to everything else and the loss of species and biodiversity would eventually affect us one way or another, even if we sit still.

One famous quote says "When the buying stops, the poaching stops too." Here in the south, traders have a different take, "Trading stops when there is no more wildlife to poach". Wildlife trade will be featured in the country's first, comprehensive documentary on Philippine biodiversity. Endangered Tales premieres on Earth Day April 22 at SM cinemas in Manila. Help conserve nature and support the hornbill any many other wildlife species on Earth Day. For more information, visit www.ceae.org

ROMMEL M. CRUZ
Project Field Assistant
Southern Palawan Anti-Poaching Initiative
Katala Foundation, P.O. Box 390, Puerto Princesa City, 5300, Palawan
rumil_03@yahoo.com