The exploitation of birds' nests in Malaysia has a long history. Trade in birds' nests with China already existed at the start of the 17th century, when Dutch merchants began operating in the Malaysian and Indonesian region (Cranbrook, 1984: 150, Koon and Cranbrook 2002: 64-5). The trade in birds' nests was an important source of profit, which was therefore controlled first by the Sultanate of Brunei, and then by the Brooke administration which issued titles and permits to the different owners and enacted various ordinances to control the collecting of nests. In the early years of the Sarawak State, birds' nests constituted a significant source of revenue for the state, which collected export duties of 10% of the value of the nests (Cranbrook 1984:152).
In Malaysia, mainly two species of swiftlets produce edible nests: Collocalia fuciphaga (producing white nests) and Collocalia maxima (producing black nests). Both species inhabit mainly limestone caves, such as the Niah caves, which are the object of this study. The nests are made out of the saliva and feathers of the swiftlets. Once processed to remove the feathers, the nests are consumed in soups, which are believed by many people (mainly Chinese) to have rejuvenating and cosmetic virtues.
In the main Niah cave, the exploitation of birds' nests began fairly recently, less than 200 years ago (Harrisson and Jamuh 1956; Medway 1958; Koon and Cranbrook 2002: 68). Niah soon became a major center of black nest production, which peaked at 18.500 kg per year in 1931, or 70% of the total production of black nests in the state of Sarawak for that year (Cranbrook 1984: 155). The exploitation of birds' nests in the Niah caves sustains the livelihoods of hundreds of people, and has been one of the backbones of economic development for Niah town. One even talks of "birds' nests tycoons," people who became very rich within a short time, just through birds' nests trade. The fame of the Niah caves owes a lot to this huge production of nests, but also to the archaeological discovery of the oldest human remains in Southeast Asia (Harrisson 1958). In order to protect this unique archaeological site, the caves were made into a national heritage site under the authority of the Sarawak Museum, and later on into a national park under the authority of the National Parks department. Recently, the swiftlets have become protected species.
Before 1980, only two harvests were allowed, in December and June, each of which lasted for 2 months (Medway 1958: 467). Each harvest was followed by 4 months without harvest. (1) Most owners and collectors were Penan, while traders were first Malay, then, later on, local Chinese. The owners either worked in the cave themselves or hired Penan workers who were paid a fixed price per harvest, as well as a share of the harvest (Cranbrook 1984). During harvest time, workers stayed overnight in the cave. Traders established a whole village in an adjacent cave (the so-called "trader cave"), to barter goods for raw nests, or buy nests with money. As many workers contracted debts with traders, they often repaid the debt in kind. In the early 1930s, the state established auctions to secure a better price for the workers and owners (through traders' competition) and to prevent tax evasion (Banks 1937). The state also tried to outlaw the repayment of debt in kind with nests.
At the end of the 1950s, birds' nests collection was a dying business (Medway 1957; 1958). In 1958, only five Penan were still working as professional birds' nests collectors. The price was so low that it was not economical to exploit nests, given the concomitant risk. The bird population was very impressive and was estimated to be about 1.5 million in the 1950s (Medway 1957) and 1.3 million in 1978 (Leh and Hall 1996).
In short, before 1980, the local system of birds' nests management, which involved mainly Penan and some local traders, was still sustainable and well controlled. It was taking place on a rather low and declining scale. The number of birds and birds' nests was very high, but the price was low.
Today, any visitor would be struck by the contrast that exists between what they would see and the description that travelers made of the Niah cave 25 or more years ago. The clouds of birds and bats which used to swarm in and out of the cave in search of food, and which were praised by tourist guides, have disappeared. The cave looks quiet and empty of wildlife, but is full of people who stay inside to look after their holes (2) and prevent others from harvesting their nests. The days are gone when visitors covered themselves with plastic bags to prevent bird droppings from staining their clothes. The number of swiftlets building black edible nests has dramatically declined. It was estimated to be less than 500,000 in 1993 (Leh and Hall 1996), and 180,000 in 1997 (Kheng 1997).
Although these estimations are not easy to make, and are subject to numerous methodological problems, nobody challenges the fact that there has been a recent and drastic decline in the population of birds. What is more problematic, however, is to identify the causes of this decline. One can broadly distinguish two different types of causes: those which are physical, and those which are socio-economic in nature.
Various physical causes have been suggested, which all argue that the local ecosystem has been disturbed to the point that it has affected the population of birds. It has been suggested that the collection of guano has a negative impact on the cave ecosystem and on the population of insects which the birds eat (Leh & Hall 1996: 25-26). Many local people also claim to have witnessed a major drop in bird populations after the forest fires and haze which hit the region in 1997. Some also blame fire and smoke to explain why the number of birds dropped in the big mouth of the cave after a house which was standing there burned, and the smoke from the fire killed thousands of birds. A recent invasion of green algae is also blamed for spoiling the reproduction grounds of the swiftlets (Kheng 1997: 91; Leh, personal communication). Many local people believe that the use of pesticides has had a negative impact on bird populations (see also Vardon, in Kheng 1997: 91), as it may have both reduced the amount of insects on which birds feed, and poisoned the birds who ate those
This are video about cave bird nest , enjoy!!!
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