Zoos Victoria (ZV) has been actively involved in this conservation programme since 1993, when a pair of Philippine Crocodiles was imported into Melbourne Zoo and support was provided for a breeding program in southern Negros Island. We now play a key role in facilitating and coordinating global conservation support through the position of International Coordinator on the Philippine Crocodile National Recovery Team.

Our key field partner is the Mabuwaya Foundation, which works with communities and local government in north-east Luzon Island to protect the last known breeding population of Philippine Crocodiles.  This is the only in situ program for this species and promotes the Philippine Crocodile as a flagship for broader freshwater wetland conservation across northern Luzon. The program integrates wildlife conservation with community development, and is a model for conserving both this crocodile and freshwater wetlands elsewhere in the Philippines.

The program focus

Although once widespread across the Philippines, the Philippine Crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis) is now restricted to remnant populations in northern Luzon Island in the country’s north, and central Mindano Island in the south. Scattered individuals possibly remain in southern Negros Island, but these have not been confirmed. This program is focused on San Mariano Municipality in Isabela Province in the foothills of the Northern Sierra Madre Mountain Range, about 400km north-east of Manila. The area contains the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park, the largest protected area in the Philippines at more than 350,000ha and considered by many national and international conservation bodies as the country’s “last great forest”.

The Philippine Crocodile was confirmed in this region in 1999, an event that led to a community-based conservation program that is now managed by the Mabuwaya Foundation (from Tagalog for “long life” [“mabuhay”] and “crocodile” [“buwaya”]). With the strong support of the local government, the Foundation works with the local farming communities to protect crocodiles and their habitat, establish community-managed sanctuaries for crocodiles and fish, and facilitate the development of village action plans that enable the broader environment to be managed sustainably. The Philippine Crocodile is a key vehicle for achieving these outcomes and is now the flagship for San Mariano town and its surrounding communities.

The conservation issue

The Philippines is recognized by major conservation organizations as a high priority for urgent conservation action. The country has high levels of endemism arising from its geological history, but its wildlife and environments are facing huge pressures from widespread habitat loss, ineffective implementation of wildlife laws and very low community awareness across all sectors of society of the uniqueness of their wildlife.

The plight of the Philippine Crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis) was recognized in 1983, when a nationwide survey indicated the total wild population comprised no more than 1,000 individuals. Hunting over the 1950s and 60s, followed by incremental loss of isolated crocodiles and ongoing habitat loss had decimated the population. Two captive breeding facilities were subsequently established, based on the view that the species could not be protected in the wild “until public sentiment and awareness of conservation permit effective protection and implementation of reintroduction programs”. In 1992, the species was considered by the IUCN’s Crocodile Specialist Group as one of the most threatened crocodilians in the world. It remains so today and is listed as Critically Endangered.

The two most important threats to the survival of this species in the wild are habitat loss and widespread negative community attitudes towards crocodiles generally in the Philippines. However, these factors impact on all wildlife in the Philippines and are compounded by a serious lack of awareness of Philippine wildlife by Filipinos.

The Philippines has wildlife laws that are designed to protect its environment and wildlife, but it suffers from a chronic lack of capacity to implement those laws. This is exacerbated in remote rural areas, where people are poor and government services are inadequate. In recent decades, civil insurgency in some parts of the country have prevented protection or even study of wildlife; for example in Mindanao Island, where large marsh systems were a stronghold for Philippine Crocodiles.

Sustaining wildlife conservation in the Philippines is problematic, but a growing number of community-based programs are demonstrating that this can be achieved. These are making use of the Local Government Code, a far-sighted piece of legislation passed in 1990 and which enables power and responsibility for managing community affairs, including natural resource management, to be devolved to local communities, rather than being retained at the national level. This is a key factor in the success of the Mabuwaya Foundation’s program in northern Luzon.

Zoos Victoria’s conservation field partners

Our key field partner is the Mabuwaya Foundation, which was established in 2003 by Filipino and Dutch biologists and registered in the Philippines as a non-government organization. The Foundation works very closely with the San Mariano Municipal Government and local mayors and their communities.

The Foundation also facilitates a wide range of joint projects through Isabela State University (Philippines) and Leiden University (Netherlands) under the banner of the Cagayan Valley Program for the Environment & Development.

In addition to the field program supported by ZV, we work with the Department of Environment & Natural Resources – Protected Areas & Wildlife Bureau (DENR-PAWB) to facilitate global zoo support.

Project Plan

The first National Recovery Plan for the Philippine Crocodile was jointly published in 2000 by the DENR-PAWB and ZV. This was updated in 2005 and has nine main objectives.

1. Establish protected wild populations of Philippine Crocodiles and their habitats.
2. Promote positive community attitudes to, and understanding of crocodiles in the Philippines.
3. Coordinate captive management and encourage this as a vehicle to support in situ conservation.
4. Determine the ecology of Philippine Crocodiles.
5. Clarify population genetics of the species.
6. Integrate conservation of Philippine Crocodiles with conservation of freshwater wetlands in the Philippines.
7. Build partnerships to support conservation of Philippines Crocodiles and their habitats.
8. Establish funding streams to support conservation actions.
9. Ensure all relevant Philippine Government policies align with conservation of Philippine Crocodiles.

To oversee implementation of the Recovery Plan, a National Recovery Team was established in 2000. Zoos Victoria is represented on the Team through the position of International Coordinator. This involves extensive liaison with zoos and other potential supporters in other countries, a well as our partners in the Philippines.

Monitoring success

The effectiveness of this program is assessed by regular surveys of the three main sites in the San Mariano area by the CROC team (Crocodile, Rehabilitation, Observance & Conservation), enabling crocodile numbers to be recorded.  A two year joint ecological study of one of the populations, together with radio-transmitters fitted to 15 released crocodiles across two sites, is adding significantly to our knowledge of the species’ biology and behaviour.

The CROC team patrols also provide opportunities to meet with villagers and gain feedback on the development and implementation of the village action plans.

Zoos Victoria's role

Zoos Victoria has supported field activities in north-east Luzon since 1999. This has involved direct funding, successful grant applications and advocacy of the program. As International Coordinator on the National Recovery Team, we have collated and edited the National Recovery Plan and are actively facilitating the necessary agreements that will enable importation of captive-bred Philippine Crocodiles to partner zoos in the USA and Europe. Those transfers are aimed at supporting fundraising at the participating zoos, to further enhance successful outcomes in the field.

We also hold a pair of crocodiles at Melbourne Zoo as an important vehicle for highlighting the conservation program and our partnership support.

Key achievements

Many outstanding achievements have occurred since this program commenced. These include:

• Two Crocodile Sanctuaries established, based around two of the main breeding sites. These are patrolled by trained village representatives.
• Thirteen community fish sanctuaries established and managed by village communities.
• Annual funding from the San Mariano Municipal Government for the sanctuary protection groups.
• Local ordinances passed by the San Mariano Municipal Government for the protection of crocodiles, other wildlife and habitats.
• A significant decrease in the level of illegal activity in the area, e.g. dynamite fishing and illegal clearing of forest.
• An integrated community awareness program, including declaration of a Crocodile Week and adoption of the Philippine Crocodile as the flagship for San Mariano.
• Two regional conservation workshops, leading to 15 barangays (small communities) establishing and implementing local conservation action plans. These initially focused on crocodile conservation, but now encompass protection of water sources, sustainable gardening practices and reducing pollution.
• The village action plans form the basis for an overarching strategy for Philippine Crocodile conservation throughout the entire Northern Sierra Madre region.
• A nest protection scheme that rewards families for helping to guard a crocodile nest during incubation. Income from this has helped families and local communities through activities such as purchase of water purification units and materials for school children. These outcomes reinforce the value of the crocodile to the community.
• A headstart program that has seen the known wild (non-hatchling) Philippine Crocodile population in the area increase from 25 in 2004 to over 70 in 2008.
• Throughout the region, more than 500 people are now involved in the Foundation’s activities.

Forward Priorities

All elements of the National Recovery Plan will be progressed, but for the in situ activities:

• Enhancing of the breeding sites in San Mariano, with the aim of linking them through ongoing habitat protection.
• Expansion of the head-start program to strengthen the wild population against the impacts of weather and unforeseen mortality.
• Implementing the Philippine Crocodile Recovery Project in Liguasan Marsh, Mindano Island.
• Development of sustainable livelihood options to reduce pressure on wild crocodile populations outside the area encompassed by the breeding sites.

Reports and Publications

Banks, C.B. (2005) National Recovery Plan for the Philippine Crocodile, Crocodylus mindorensis, 2005-2008. (second edition). Department of Environment & Natural Resources – Protected Areas & Wildlife Bureau (DENR-PAWB), Quezon City, Philippines; and Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens, Parkville, Australia.

Mallari, N.A.D., Tabaranza, B.R. & M.J. Crosby (2001) Key Conservation Sites in the Philippines: A Haribon Foundation and BirdLife International Directory of Important Bird Areas. Bookmark Inc., Makati City.

Ross, C.A. (1982) Smithsonian Institution/World Wildlife Fund Philippine Crocodile Project, Final Report.  World Wildlife Fund #1489, Washington.
 
Ross, J.P. (ed.) (1998) Crocodiles: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan (second edition). IUCN/SSC Crocodile Specialist Group. IUCN – Gland, Switzerland, and Cambridge, UK.

Tan, J.M.L. (2000) The last great forest: Luzon’s Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park. Bookmark Inc., Makati City.

Van der Ploeg, J. & M.van Weerd (2004) Devolution of Natural Resource Management and Crocodile Conservation. Philippine Studies 52 (3): 346-83.

Van Weerd, M. & A.A.A. General (2003) Conserving the Philippine Crocodile in the Northern Sierra Madre: the results of three years of research and conservation action. In, van der Ploeg, J., Bernado, E.C. & A.B. Masipiquena (eds.) The Sierra Madre Mountain Range: Global Relevance, Local Realities. Cagayan Valley Program on Environment & Development, Tuguegarao City: 17-33.

		National Recovery Plan for the Philippine Crocodile, Crocodylus mindorensis, 2005-2008. Recovery Plan-2005.pdf  ( 1.4 MB )