CITES and the Edible-nest Swiftlets in South East Asia. Conservation Biology in Practice? CITES APPENDIX I APPENDIX III APPENDIX II.

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1 Scope CITES and the Edible-nest Swiftlets in South East Asia. Conservation Biology in Practice? Kenneth Er Forest Resources Management Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia What is CITES? Case of the Edible-nest Swiftlets in South East Asia Questions What is CITES? CITES stands for Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora international treaty established in 1975 arose out of concerns that wild species of plants and animals were being over-exploited by commercial trade 152 countries are party to the Convention Member countries meet approximately once every two years CITES APPENDIX I APPENDIX III APPENDIX II Appendix I Appendix II Includes all species threatened with extinction which are or may be affected by trade Trade in these species are often prohibited Includes species which although not necessarily now threatened with extinction may become so unless trade in specimens of such species in subject to strict regulation Trade in these species are regulated 1

2 Appendix III Submission of Proposed Amendments to Appendices Includes species which any Party identifies as being subject to regulation within its jurisdiction for the purpose of preventing or restricting exploitation, and as needing the co-operation of other parties in the control of trade Trade is usually regulated only within the country of origin Comments to be transmitted within 60 days of receipt of notice from Secretariat Secretariat Distributed to Parties of concern, with its recommendations 150 days before COP for Appendix I and II Anytime for Appendix III Conference of the Parties via 2/3 majority vote Strengths Weaknesses of CITES Political International actions may be taken by Conference of Parties to enforce the provisions of the Convention. This can amount to trade sanctions on any party, if necessary. Operational Covers not only species, but also subspecies and populations Covers not only live animals and plants, but also animal and plant parts Political Concerns can be more political than ecological in nature Does not apply to countries not party to the Convention Reservations may be entered by any party on any species Weaknesses of CITES Operational Species may be listed because they are look-alike Difficulties in assessing conservation status Difficulties in identification, monitoring and regulation Works on the premise that trade is bad Does not consider the socio-economic, cultural and political situation of many developing countries Edible-nest Swiftlets in South East Asia 2

Background Edible birds' nest composed of

Asia for at least 400 years Multi-billion

3 Background Edible birds' nest composed of saliva secreted by enlarged sublingual glands of four species of swiftlets: Collocalia fuciphaga (gmelin) Collocalia germani oustalet Collocalia maxima hume Harvesting has continued in South-East Asia for at least 400 years Multi-billion dollar industry (cost of nest: US$ /kg) 3

CITES Proposal Citing widespread decline in populations, the Government of Italy proposed to list the swiftlets under AppendixII of CITES at the 9th Conference of Parties in 1994.

4 CITES Proposal Citing widespread decline in populations, the Government of Italy proposed to list the swiftlets under AppendixII of CITES at the 9th Conference of Parties in Range Countries had 60 days to respond. What evidence of decline? Synonyms of Collocalia fuciphaga (Gmelin) 1789 Collocalia fuciphaga fuciphaga (Thunberg ) Collocalia francica vestita (Lesson) ak.a.collocallia fuciphaga natunae Stresemann a.k.a. Collocalia francica natunae Stresemann Review past (pre-1970) and present distribution and conservation status of the three swiftlet species Review evidence of population decline Collocalia fuciphaga inexpectata Hume a.k.a. Collocalia inexpectata inexpectata Hume Collocalia fuciphaga amechana Oberholser a.k.a.collocalia inexpectata amechana Oberholser Collocalia fuciphaga vestita (Lesson) a.k.a. Collocalia vestita vestita (Lesson) Collocalia fuciphaga micans Stresemann a.k.a.collocalia inexpectata micans Stresemann a.k.a. Collocalia francica micans Stresemann Collocalia fuciphaga perplexa a.ka.collocalia inexpectata perplexa Riley a.k.a. Collocalia francica perplexa Riley Review effects of nest harvesting and forest habitat modification Collocalia francica inexpectata Hume Collocalia francica javensis Stresemann Collocalia inexpectata bartelsi Stresemann a.k.a. Collocalia francica bartelsi Stresemann Collocalia inexpectata dammermani Rensch a.k.a.collocalia francica dammermani Rensch Synonyms of Collocalia germani Oustalet 1878 Collocalia fuciphaga germani Oustalet Collocalia inexpectata germani Oustalet Collocalia francica germani Stresemann Collocalia francica merguiensis Hartert Synonyms of Collocalia maxima Hume 1878 Collocalia maxima Hume Collocalia lowi robinsoni Stresemann Collocalia lowi lowi (Sharpe) Collocalia lowi tichelmani Stresemann 4

5 Rates of Change in Nest Harvest at the Local Scale Region (period) Gomantong, Sabah ( ) Gomantong, Sabah ( ) Long Lama, Sarawak ( ) Bua, Sarawak ( ) Rate of change in nest harvest yields (kg/year) Nest Type References -25.3* White Francis (1987) * Black Francis (1987) -9.2* White Cranbrook (1984) -66.1* Black Cranbrook (1984) 5

Rates of Change in Nest Harvest at the Regional Scale Nest Harvest Yields from

(1980-1990) Thailand (1980-1990) Vietnam (1980-1993) Rate of change Nest Type in nest

7* All types Lau and Melville (1994); birds' nest traders pers. comm. +1280.

7* White Nguyen (1994) Nest harvest yields based on export data (kg) 3.5 10 5 3.

6 Rates of Change in Nest Harvest at the Regional Scale Nest Harvest Yields from Indonesia Region or Country (period examined) Indonesia ( ) Malaysia ( ) Thailand ( ) Vietnam ( ) Rate of change Nest Type in nest harvest yields (kg/year) References * All types Lau and Melville (1994); birds' nest traders pers. comm * All types Lau and Melville (1994) * All types Lau and Melville (1994) * White Nguyen (1994) Nest harvest yields based on export data (kg) Nest harvest yields based on export data (kg) 0 Significant change Year 6

Estimate of Current Population Number of Ediblenest Swiftlets in South East Asia Country Indonesia Malaysia Thailand Vietnam Myanmar Nest Harvest Yields (kg) 328 674 34 806 4 536 2 800 21 Year 1993

7 Estimate of Current Population Number of Ediblenest Swiftlets in South East Asia Country Indonesia Malaysia Thailand Vietnam Myanmar Nest Harvest Yields (kg) Year /90 (correct for corruption) Reference Birds' nest Lau and Lau and Nguyen Lau and traders pers. Melville Melville (1994) Melville comm. (1994) (1994) (1994) Population estimate of breeding adults Population estimate of recruitment or young Total number of breeding adults Total number of recruitment or young Total population estimate (less nonbreeding adults) Problems in Estimating Populations Techniques to estimate swiftlet populations are not welldeveloped Use of different techniques can give different results Effects of Nest Harvesting Effects could differ between species (C. maxima more tolerant than C. fuciphaga) Harvesting stimulates nest building immediately, but induces lipid stress in females Variability due to the fact that caves have multiple entrances, bird movements are rapid, new nests are difficult to discern from old ones in caves. Overall nest harvesting reduces breeding success of birds Effects of Forest Loss So, What Happened in the End? Swiftlets have a foraging range of about 32 km Feed primarily on aerial insects found above the canopy of primary rainforest Importance of nests as a resource encourages protection of forests by local communities The Proposal was withdrawn in the face of opposition from the South East Asian countries However, it was recognized that nest harvesting had resulted in the local decline of some swiftlet populations, and that the harvest was not sustainable in some localities. A regional task force was set up in 1996 by governments of the South East Asian countries to monitor and co-ordinate efforts to ensure sustainable harvesting of the nests. 7

Conclusions Underlying ecological concerns for species decline are often real. But such concerns could be distorted by political motivations in the form of international conventions.

8 Conclusions Underlying ecological concerns for species decline are often real. But such concerns could be distorted by political motivations in the form of international conventions. Control of trade involving endangered species must take into account the socio-economic and biological pecularities pertaining to the species. There is no real recipe. At least, CITES focuses attention on species in need of conservation 8

RECOGNIZING also that other factors such as habitat loss, pollution and incidental catch are seriously impacting sea turtle populations;

RECOGNIZING also that other factors such as habitat loss, pollution and incidental catch are seriously impacting sea turtle populations; Conf. 9.20 (Rev.) * Guidelines for evaluating marine turtle ranching proposals submitted pursuant to Resolution Conf..6 (Rev. CoP5) RECOGNIZING that, as a general rule, use of sea turtles has not been