Conservation In Action: Harvesting Bat Guano
“…team working with Bat Conservation International (BCI) on developing international standards for the sustainable harvest of bat guano. Bat guano has been harvested from caves for centuries and has been put to a variety of uses, including for gunpowder during the U.S. Civil War. Today bat guano is primarily used for fertilizer, both in commercial production in places like Texas and for subsistence farming purposes in places throughout Southeast Asia and Latin America. Guano harvesting can have huge impacts on bat colonies. Bats are extremely sensitive to disturbance, and harvesting guano while bats are roosting can cause pup loss and abandonment of caves. Lack of understanding of these impacts, together with unclear property rights and lack of any rules to enforce have led to unsustainable guano harvesting practices.
Over the course of the next year and a half, our [Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders] EWCL team will work with BCI and other partners to develop international standards for guano harvesting. We will work with up to two communities to develop pilot projects for the application of these standards to help bat conservation professionals work with all relevant stakeholders to create effective management regimes at the local, national and regional level.”
