A. Species
Scientific name: Varanus salvator
Common name(s): Asian water monitor, Common water monitor
Global IUCN Red List Threat Status: Least Concern
B. Location of use
Geographic location(s):
- Peninsular Malaysia
Country/Region: Malaysia (peninsula)
C. Scale of assessment
Scale of assessment: Sub-national / Sub-region / Sub-State
Name/Details of location: 5 States: Peninsular Malaysia: Kuala Muda, Kedah; Setiu, Terengganu; Selama, Perak; Sabak Bernam, Selangor; and Pekan, Pahang.
D. Timescale of use
Start Year: 2010
End Year: 2018
E. Information about the use
How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat and Wild species sourced from significantly modified habitat
Type of use: Extractive
Practice of use: Hunting and/or Trapping of live terrestrial and aerial animals
Lethal or non-lethal: Lethal
Does this use involve take/extraction of: The whole entire organism
Purpose(s) of end use: Decorative and aesthetic
Motivation of use: Income generation from trade (individual/household/community) and Largescale commercial exploitation for trade
Is this use legal or illegal?: Some use is legal and some is illegal
F. Information about the Users
Which stakeholder(s) does the record primarily focus on?: Local people and National external
G. Information about the sustainability of use
Is there evidence that the use is having an impact on the target species?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat and Wild species sourced from significantly modified habitat
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an ecological perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: This study conducted a comparison of harvest rates from the wild in relation to numbers of lizards remaining equally extant in both hunted and non-hunted wild populations.
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Despite the decades-long (and ongoing) harvesting of water monitors in Peninsular Malaysia, this study captured many of these giant lizards in a variety of habitats at all survey sites. Capture rates remained high in sites that were surveyed multiple times, despite hunting during the intervening period. Overall, these data support the conclusion from earlier studies that populations of V. salvator are resilient to varying levels of offtake.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an economic perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: this study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: This is a substantial regional industry, with Malaysia exporting a quota of 165,000 water monitor skins per year. The study does not detail the number of hunters, trader or skin processing facility workers involved, but this amounts to a considerable economic enterprise - one that the study shows the water monitor population can sustain.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a social perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: this study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: This is a substantial regional industry, with Malaysia exporting a quota of 165,000 water monitor skins per year. The study does not detail the number of hunters, trader or skin processing facility workers involved, but this amounts to a considerable economic enterprise - one that the study shows the water monitor population can sustain.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health perspective been recorded?: not recorded
Details of assessment carried out: study does not record this
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: study does not record this
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an animal health/welfare perspective been recorded?: not recorded
Details of assessment carried out: study does not record this
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: study does not record this
Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species
The study advocates more more precise monitoring of standing wild water monitor populations over a broader region to enhance and corroborate sustainability estimates.
Record source
Information about the record source: scientific_pub
Date of publication/issue/production: 2019-01-01T00:00:00+0000
Source Reference(s):
Date of record entry: 2022-12-05