Seascape Shadows: The Precarious Lives of Edible Bird’s Nests Harvesters in Northern Palawan, the Philippines

A Webinar to be presented by Dr. Paula Satizábal (University of Melbourne) November 18, 2020 / 10:00-11:30AM (Manila, GMT+8) Hosted by DSA-ASIA

Abstract

The intensifying extraction, marketisation, conservation and privatisation of maritime spaces and resources is transforming seascapes around the globe. Amidst rapid coastal change and the reconfiguration of oceans as frontiers are coastal dwellers who occupy the shadows of these seascapes. In contrast to the capture of high-profile marine species, the harvest of the edible nests of the balinsasayaw (swiftlet, Aerodramus fuciphagus) remains largely concealed at the interstitial spaces between land and sea. In the Philippines, harvesters known as busyador negotiate social relations, political networks and karst systems to extract these lucrative nests. Despite the nest industry growing in value in Southeast Asia, busyador struggle in precarious labour relations and spaces peripheral to marine governance.  Building on the concept of ‘seascape assemblages’, we emphasise the importance of the less visible human-nonhuman relations that shape the nest harvest and trade. We trace the marginal social histories of the balinsasayaw by highlighting the precarious nature of the harvest, showing how busyador are subject to unfair trading and working conditions, insecurity and violence. We argue that as state actors and local elites reconfigure oceans as frontiers for development and conservation, struggles over labour and tenure rights, livelihood opportunities and justice at sea are disregarded.

About the Presenting Author

Paula Satizábal is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the School of Geography. Her research uses a political ecology approach to study how regional political economic processes shape environmental governance institutions, power/knowledge dynamics, and how different groups respond to these transformations. In particular, she is interested in the changing relationships between people and oceans with a focus on small-scale fishing communities. Her work has examined socio-environmental conflicts and their intersections with coastal and marine governance interventions in Colombia and the Philippines. Paula seeks to contribute to more reciprocal, socially just, and sustainable ways of engaging with and inhabiting the oceans.