RP losing P9 M yearly from illegal wildlife trade

The Philippines is losing close to P9 million yearly due to the illegal trade of wildlife species, a ranking official of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources revealed recently.

Dr. Theresa Mundita Lim, director of the DENR’s Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau, said the country is losing from P4 million to P6 million annually based on the value of confiscated wildlife species.

Add to this, Lim said the country is also losing around P3 million yearly because of uncollected permit fees.

In a forum last Tuesday, Lim said that based on data gathered by her office, the route of illegal wildlife trade in the country usually starts from Malaysia or Indonesia.

Illegal wildlife traders then enter the Philippines, considered as one of the 25 countries tagged as biodiversity hot spots, through Mindanao leading to Metro Manila. 

“(They pass) through the route of ro-ro (roll-on, roll-off scheme),” Lim said.

In Southeast Asia, Lim said the illegal wildlife trade is pegged at $8 billion to $10 billion every year.

Lim cited the case of talking mynah birds from Palawan that are now taken home as pets.

She also cited stuffed specimens and bottled commercial products made of wildlife animal parts.

Lim cited a DENR survey in 2005 showing that 4,000 individuals and institutions registered their collections with the DENR.

“Through amnesty, we were able to document specimens in the possession of private individuals and collectors. These involve more than 400,000 heads of various species of wildlife, most of which were acquired illegally,” Lim said.

She said wildlife trade or poaching is the world’s third largest industry, “worth billons of dollars,” next to illegal drugs and trafficking of weapons.