October 06, 2008 14:31 PM
By Haslin Gaffor
KINABATANGAN, Oct 6 (Bernama) -- The largest limestone cave in Sabah, Gua Gomantong, is not only a tourism attraction but is also home to thousands of swifts, the bird famously known for its edible nest.
Hence, the cave plays an important role in Sabah's production of this famous bird nest.
The bird nest is renowned for its high commercial value and is a favourite among the Chinese due to its medicinal significance.
Spread over 3,297 hectares of area, Gua Gomantong is located in the Gomantong Forest Reserve in Kinabatangan and is under the Class VI Forest Reserve Category.
In Sabah, there are about 25 limestone caves that are home to the swifts but only two have high number of the bird nest -- Gua Gomantong and Gua Madai in Lahad Datu.
CARE OF THE CAVES
Gua Gomantong is under the care of the Kinabatangan Wildlife Office which is the authority in charge of the bird nest under the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997.
Wildlife Enforcement Officer for Gua Gomantong, Hussein Muin, said there are four swift species in Sabah.
They are that which spawn the white nest (Collocalia Fuciphagus), black nest (Collocalia Maximus), moss-like nest (Collocalia vanikorensis) and white-bellied birds (Collocalia Esulenta).
He said only the white and black bird nest are edible and have high nutritional and medicinal value.
"There are 19 caverns in Gua Gomantong that produce the white, black and moss nests while four others only produce the black and white varieties," he told Bernama.
Hussein said management of Gua Gomantong takes into account the conservation of the swifts as well as sustainable generation of the bird nest.
BIRD NEST COLLECTION
According to Hussein, to ensure sustainable production of the bird nest, harvesting is carried out for only two seasons in a year.
He said the first harvesting season is from February to April with the second on August-September where only the white and black bird nest is harvested.
The bird nest harvesting at the 19 caverns of Gua Gomantong is sub-divided into seven lots and carried out by contractors who were awarded tenders.
Before harvesting, the Kinabatangan Wildlife Office would check on the size of the bird nest and prepare the report on it.
He said the tender to harvest the bird nest is then offered followed by the harvesting work.
Hussein said the contractors need to follow several regulations like registering their vehicles and workers, duration of harvesting period allowed, time of harvesting and other aspects like the name tags of their workers and safety measures applied.
He also said harvesting the bird nest in Gua Gomantong is by the traditional method involving the use of Guggulug (wooden ladder), Piatau (bamboo), rope and Ambong (container to keep the bird nest as well as other equipment like the Sesungkit and Serapong.
"This traditional method is to ensure conservation of this cave as well as as sustainable production of the bird nest," he said.
SAFETY MEASURES DURING HARVESTING
Among the risks that could be encountered by the harvesters is the danger of slipping and falling down. However the work is carried out by experienced workers and they are also covered by insurance in case any untoward incident happens.
Hussein said after the harvesting work, the contractors are required to make sure that the caverns are free from debris and other rubbish while all the harvesting tools should be well kept and stored properly.
"This is crucial for the conservation of the caves and sustainability of the bird nest," he said.
After harvesting, the bird nest is cleaned, graded and packaged.
HIGH COMMERCIAL VALUE
Hussein said the post-harvest processing should be done cautiously as well as vigilantly to ensure that the bird nest is really clean and ready for sale in the domestic or overseas market.
Before being moved to the market, the pre-processed bird nest is priced at between RM2,500 and RM6,000 a kg but the figure could reach RM12,500 a kg after processing, according to the respective grades.
Source: BERNAMA
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