THE Philippines’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will intensify the campaign against illegal-wildlife trade and prevent the entry of exotic wildlife and potentially invasive alien species that may adversely affect the environment.
Director Theresa Mundita Lim of the DENR’s Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) told the BusinessMirror that a series of training would be conducted to update law enforcers manning airports and seaports on the lucrative wildlife trade, which is considered one of the biggest threats to biodiversity.
“We will conduct these trainings to familiarize our law-enforcement agencies on the law against illegal- wildlife trade.
We will also request airport and seaport authorities to allow us to put posters of endangered and threatened species in strategic locations,” Lim said. She said the DENR-BMB will take the lead and coordinate with the DENR’s regional offices, provincial environment and natural resources offices, city and municipal environment and natural resources officers nationwide.
He said monitoring in airports and seaports will be tightened to prevent smugglers from bringing in exotic wildlife or smuggling out the country’s exotic wildlife.
According to Lim, hobbyists tend to import wildlife species—such as birds, aquarium fish and amphibians, small animals like squirrels—that are sometimes accidentally released into the wild.
These non-native species, she said, could eventually harm the environment when their populations grow and start preying on other native species, citing squirrels that have been detected at a golf course in Metro Manila. These squirrels raid birds’ nests for eggs.
“When their [invasive alien species] population grow and become uncontrollable, they tend to prey on other species, threatening our native species to become extinct,” she said.
She added that an assessment of invasive alien species that were previously reported to the DENR-BMB would be conducted this year.
“That way, we will know the extent of the damage or potential damage these invasive alien species can cause. We need to prevent it from happening,” she said.
Last year the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) adopted a new guideline to tackle the introduction of invasive species as pets, aquarium and terrarium species, and as live bait and food.
Invasive alien species can be non-native live animals, plants, pathogens and parasites introduced into the wild.
The guidelines, which were adopted during the 12th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD in October 2014, fill a gap in the international guidance on prevention, control or eradication of invasive alien species.
They are intended to apply to the import or transport of species to a country or distinct biogeographical area within a country, including trade via the Internet.
In the Philippines invasive alien species accidentally released into the wild have caused alarm among affected fishermen because their catch of commercially viable fish have diminished over the years.
The janitor fish and knife fish in recent years, for instance, have infested the Laguna de Bay, including some major rivers. Knife fish and janitor fish are ornamental or aquarium fish species.
Ironically, some of the invasive alien species, such as tilapia, were actually released in fish ponds and rivers to help address food problem.
The DENR recently came up with the National Invasive Species Strategy and Action Plan.
Lim said too many invasive alien species have been introduced in the name of food production and improving livelihoods, but these have often led to ecological imbalance.
She appealed to hobbyists and other actors to exercise caution in the importation and introduction of non-native species for commercial propagation as they pose a threat to the country’s rich biodiversity.
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