A wildlife forensic expert on Tuesday underscored the need to strengthen the country’s capacity on wildlife forensics to boost the campaign against illegal wildlife trade.
Dr. Ian Kendrich C. Fontanilla, head of the DNA Barcoding Laboratory of the Institute of Biology, University of the Philippines Diliman, said wildlife forensics is an effective, tool which law enforcement authorities need to invest in.
Interviewed at the sideline of the on-going “Conference on Wildlife Forensics as Tool to Combat Wildlife Trafficking” at the Bai Hotel in Mandaue City, Cebu from July 16 to 18, 2019, Fontanilla said there is a need to establish a network of wildlife forensic laboratories in the country to build up cases involving wildlife crime.
For one, he said, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) should have its own wildlife forensic laboratory to identify wildlife species, which it needs in presenting evidence in court to bolster cases against those accused of a wildlife crime.
He noted that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Philippine National Police (PNP), and other law enforcement agencies which support the DENR’s campaign against wildlife trafficking already have their own forensic laboratories.
“What we need is to establish a network of forensic laboratories. The DENR, for one, needs to have its own forensic lab,” he said.
Globally, illegal wildlife trade is valued at $8 billion to $ 10 billion a year. In the Philippines, the illegal wildlife trade is valued at P50 billion, or roughly a $1 billion industry.
According to Fontanilla, building the capacity of the Philippines in wildlife forensics should begin with establishing a pool of experts in related fields such as taxonomy and molecular genetics, and the establishment of laboratories specializing in wildlife forensics in state colleges and universities, or even private colleges and universities with a special focus in biology.
“These wildlife forensic laboratories can then provide law enforcement agencies with personnel who can man the laboratories,” he said.
Organized by Protect Wildlife and another US-supported project Partnerships for Biodiversity Conservation under the US Department of the Interior, the three-day confab on Wildlife Forensics gathered wildlife law enforcement experts from field offices of the DENR.
The event aims to strengthen Philippines’ capacity on wildlife forensics to boost its campaign against illegal wildlife trade, identified as a major driver of biodiversity loss.
At the end of the conference, organizers hope that the participants will be able to review the training design on wildlife forensics and criminal investigation; identity and incorporate enhancements to the training design, and plan for the next steps with regard to the adoption and utilization of the training curriculum for the advanced training on wildlife law enforcement.
The Philippines, one of the megadiverse countries in the world, is also a biodiversity hotspot because of its high endemism and rapid rate of biodiversity loss.
It is also a consumer, source, and transit point of illegal wildlife trade in Asia.
The DENR, through the Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) and University of the Philippines Institute of Biology has taken steps towards strengthening wildlife forensics capacity in the Philippines.
The support for the wildlife forensics and DNA barcoding program of UP Institute of Biology started with the collaboration of the late Dr. Perry Ong and former DENR BMB Director and now Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) Executive Director Theresa Mundita S. Lim.
Under the program, the UP Institute of Biology established a reference collection of DNA barcodes of Philippine biodiversity “so that when samples arrive in their laboratory from a confiscated piece of evidence, they can compare the DNA sequence and determine if the sample involved is wildlife as well as determine its conservation category.”
According to Lawrence San Diego, communication manager of Protect Wildlife Project, a delegate from the Philippines composed of representatives from the DENR-BMB, Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Philippine Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD), Department of Justice, the NBI, PNP and UP-College of Science visited the US Fish and Wildlife Service (US FWS) Wildlife Forensics Laboratory located in Ashland, Oregon in December 2018 with the support of USAID through the Partnership for Biodiversity 3 project of the US Department of the Interior, and Protect Wildlife.
During the visit, the US FWS laboratory personnel gave a briefing about the laboratory, their protocols and procedures, the staff and the different sections of the laboratory.
Image credits: AP/Sakchai Lalit