Edible nest swiftlet are small-sized cavernicolous swift from the Family Apodidae
that naturally roost and nest in caves. Swiftlet farming is like apiculture but instead of hives,
human build specially designed buildings that imitate cave like environment in order to
provide alternative nesting sites to lure the White-nest Swiftlets (Aerodramus fuciphagus). It
is now recognised that there are three phases in the development of swiftlet farming industry
in Malaysia, namely the passive farming period, the semi-intensive phase and the modern era.
Comparing with regional development, Malaysia is very fortunate that the country is covered
with large tracks of greens, which provides plenty of food for the swiftlets. Hence, we are
seeing an accelerated expansion of this industry in the last few years. The association
between swiftlet population and habitat degradation is discussed, which leads to the issues
concerning long-term sustainability, opportunities and challenges of swiftlet farming in
Malaysia. With Malaysia free from Avian Influenza epidemic, our country becomes the
preferred source of edible nests. However, what is needed next is favourable government
policy that supports a healthy growth of this industry and gives Malaysia the strategic
business advantage. On the other hand, we need to enhance the quality of our products, and
prevent unscrupulous nest processors from adulterating the nests exported from Malaysia, i.e.
to uphold the consumers’ confidence. Finally, to ensure sustainability, the importance of the
correlation between moult, nest building, reproduction success and the availability of food
source is discussed. Swiftlet farmers need to recognise the fact that carrying capacity of the
natural environment will ultimately be the limiting factor for this industry. Finally, from the
author’s opinion, the future trend of this industry is presented for deliberation including a few
new innovations that hold the key to the long-term sustainability of the swiftlet industry in