MANILA — Knowledge of the Philippine pangolin, the only pangolin species in the country, is scant. Sightings of the animal are rarer still. But unlike other pangolin species around the world that teeter on the brink of extinction, a new study suggests that with the appropriate conservation measures, the Philippines’ endemic pangolin still has a shot at bouncing back.
) have been spotted in 17 of the 24 municipalities in Palawan, the island province that’s the only place on Earth where this species occurs.
Paggamit At Proteksyon Sa Kanilang Natatanging Katangian title= style=width:100%;text-align:center; onerror=this.onerror=null;this.src='https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSdP6_z2fcL6H_Rmb3SxZOXyJLVNTE1hbWC0R5VJ-wCxgxwEeR4SJOIevNphBfSNIyQtKA&usqp=CAU'; />
“This is promising for the Philippine pangolin and suggests it is not too late to establish conservation efforts across the species’ range, ” lead author Lucy Archer, from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), tells Mongabay.
In A Race To Save The Pangolin, Philippine Researchers Reach Out To Local Communities
So little is known about the Philippine pangolin that even as the IUCN considers the species to be critically endangered, there is no accepted estimate for its baseline population. The scientific literature suggests the species was never common, and interviews with Indigenous communities carried out in 2018 suggest it has been in sharp decline since the 1980s, the IUCN notes.
A Philippine pangolin pup and its mother, a critically endangered species endemic to the Palawan island group. Photo by Gregg Yan, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
), show that locals strongly believe that their pangolin species are extinct: sightings are rare or non-existent. This isn’t the case with the Philippine pangolins: locals are still seeing them, albeit very rarely, and the number of areas where they can be found is high.
Factory Price Wholesale Color Aluminum Diamond Plate For Sale, From China Manufacturer And Supplier
“Compared to similar studies on pangolin species elsewhere, these results suggest that Philippine pangolin populations may not have reached the critical levels shown by Chinese pangolins in China and Vietnam, or by giant pangolins in Benin, ” Archer says. “This provides some hope for the species.”
The survey ran from January to June 2019 and helps establish the species’ distribution area based on residents’ sightings. Locals call the animal
), which occurs across much of Southeast Asia, but not the Philippines. Its recognition as its own species coincided with a local poaching boom: high demand for pangolin scales in China and Vietnam, combined with increased enforcement on known Sunda pangolin trafficking routes, saw traffickers turn their attention to the Philippine pangolin.
Saving The Pangolin: Philippines' Fight Against The Illegal Wildlife Trade
Range of the four Asia pangolin species: the Chinese, Indian, Sunda and Philippine pangolins. A mix of colors within the maps indicates an overlap in the different species’ distributions. The species’ ranges are based on the IUCN Red List assessments (IUCN 2014). Note: The distribution maps are currently being updated by the IUCN Pangolin Specialist Group. Image courtesy of University of Adelaide/TRAFFIC. Image courtesy of University of Adelaide/TRAFFIC
Local conservationists also link an increase in Chinese projects in the Philippines to growing demand for pangolin meat in restaurants in Manila catering to the influx of Chinese workers and visitors. In a span of two years, Philippine pangolins became one of the most trafficked species in the country, pushing them to critically endangered status both on the IUCN and the national red lists.
Initial trafficking seizures often turned up shipments carrying both pangolins and various turtle species. But since 2018, Philippine authorities have been intercepting shipments consisting solely of pangolin parts. In September 2019, authorities in Puerto Princesa City, the capital of Palawan, made the largest-ever seizure of Philippine pangolin scales: 1, 154 kilograms (2, 545 pounds), for which at least 3, 900 pangolins would have been killed.
Pangolin Conservation Field Study Nearing Completion
From 2018 to 2019, local authorities seized 6, 894 Philippine pangolins, according to a recent report released by wildlife trade monitoring group TRAFFIC. The figure is alarming, conservationists say, because there are no clear estimates for how many of the animals remain.
But while researchers are racing against time to save the local pangolin population, studies are limited by the pangolin’s peculiar and cryptic habits. Pangolins are solitary, nocturnal, non-vocal and semi-arboreal. While these traits haven’t been enough to protect them from poachers, they make it very difficult to study the species in the wild, Archer says.
“Imagine walking through a forest at night and trying to find something that makes little noise and might be found alone up a tree, ” she says. “It would take a lot of time and effort!”
It's Not Too Late
These cryptic behaviors result in low detection probabilities, meaning the chances of spotting one, even if it’s nearby, is “very small, ” Archer adds.
“General biodiversity surveys therefore rarely record pangolins and so specific targeted monitoring methods are needed, ” she says. “However, such methods are still in development for pangolins so we don’t yet have accepted or standardized monitoring methods … partly because they are so difficult to find which therefore makes the development of such methods difficult!”
This is where the study by Archer and her team comes in. It adds to the existing knowledge base by drawing from what’s called local ecological knowledge (LEK), a type of data that builds on first-hand observations or interactions of locals in an area where a species can be found.
Ano Ang Sinasabi Sa Atin Ng 15 Taóng Datos Ng Kalakalan Ng Mga Hayop?
“LEK is based on the premise that local people can often hold more information and provide important information and knowledge on rare species that utilize the same environments as them, ” Archer says. “It is clear from this result that local people hold a wealth of important knowledge on wildlife in their local areas — they are the real experts.”
But while it has been used in conservation, particularly in community-led conservation efforts, locals’ knowledge of their environments remains a largely underutilized data source. “Its benefits lie in being able to collect lots of information over wide geographical areas over a relatively short time frame and at low costs — this study took place over 6 months, ” Archer says.
Philippine pangolins are hunted for their meat, blood and scales. Rampant poaching to fuel the wildlife trafficking ring drove the species to critically endangered status in a span of two years. Image by L. Archer/ZSL
Facts About The Critically Endangered Philippine Pangolin
“Hopefully, studies like this will aid the development of such methods as new monitoring methods can be trialed in areas where we at least know the species exists. We can also use local knowledge to target specific habitats and places where people have recently seen the species, ” Archer says.
Eighty-seven percent of respondents in the Palawan survey could identify and provide information on the Philippine pangolin, but said sightings are rare or very rare, even compared to other threatened species. This points to an urgent need to establish localized conservation initiatives, the study says. And the survey notes a high level of general local support for wildlife protection, particularly of the pangolin.
“With high knowledge levels and high willingness to be involved in conservation efforts reported by respondents in this study, I think local people are really well placed to help guide and develop conservation efforts, ” Archer says.
World Pangolin Day
The study forms the basis for ZSL’s conservation action and community engagement in the municipality of Taytay in northern Palawan, one of the identified conservation priority areas. Archer says a second phase involves using camera traps to monitor the species, which will hopefully aid in creating a community conservation area.
“We hope this will provide a useful body of information that local governments and conservation organizations can use to inform conservation efforts, and which future research can be compared to in order to track trends in species status and threats, ” she says.
Archer, L. J., Papworth, S. K., Apale, C. M., Corona, D. B., Gacilos, J. T., Amada, R. L., … Turvey, S. T. (2020). Scaling up local ecological knowledge to prioritise areas for protection: Determining Philippine pangolin distribution, status and threats.
Rescuing Confiscated Pangolins
Related stories: In a bid to protect pangolin stronghold, little talk of enforcement The extinction clock ticks for the little-known Philippine pangolin China still making pangolin=based treatments despite banning use of scales
Banner image of the elusive Philippine pangolin scales, whose meat, scales and blood have become prime commodities in the wildlife black market due to high demand in China. Local demand has also spiked in recent years with the influx of Chinese workers in the Philippines. Image by L. Archer/Zoological Society of
FEEDBACK: Use this form to send a message to the author of this post. If you want to post a public comment, you can do that at the bottom of the page.PALAWAN, Philippines — At the heart of the island province of Palawan in the western Philippines, a verdant mountain range larger than Bangkok stands like a natural bulwark. It’s a known refuge of the critically endangered Philippine pangolin, but like the docile anteater, this biodiversity haven is under constant threat from deforestation.
The Race To Save The Philippine Pangolin
Forest loss in the Victoria-Anepahan Mountain Range (VAMR), which spans 165, 000 hectares (408, 000 acres), is driven primarily by illegal logging and clearing for farmland, according to recent satellite data from Global Forest Watch (GFW). This trend has continued despite the country’s pandemic lockdown.
“VAMR remains a de facto open access due to the absence of a coherent and actively operating management plan, ” Roger Garinga, executive director of the Palawan-based nonprofit IDEAS, which promotes good environmental governance, tells Mongabay. This, he says, is the reason why human activities proliferate in VAMR’s natural forests, home to the Philippine pangolin (
Illegal logging still occurs in Palawan despite a ban imposed since 1991. Between 2001 and 2019, the province lost 152, 000 hectares
Tidak ada komentar