Adoption, a new initiative to conserve Bali's turtles

By I Wayan Juniarta

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): Do you have any extra money, and, do you have few ideas on how to spend it? If the answer is yes you would be wise to contact Putu Liza Kusuma Mustika.

She is neither a stock exchange dealer with blue chips stocks, nor a real estate broker with blueprints of prime area development in her crocodile leather suitcase.

The 25-year-old girl with New Age books stocked inside her small red backpack is "just" an energetic environmental activist with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Wallacea Bioregion, Bali.

"Invest Rp 500,000 in our newest conservation program, and you will have a chance to become a proud parent of dozens of newly born turtle hatchlings," she said with a wide grin on her face.

She was referring to the Turtle Nest's Adoption Program, the latest initiative at WWF Wallacea Bioregion. The program will officially be launched in the first week of May this year in a fund-raising event called the Turtle's Night. Yet, Liza and her colleagues have already made initial approaches to certain individuals and institutions, such as the tourism association, the Bali SKAL, and the management of Bali's biggest cultural park the Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK).

"They received such a warm response that certain individuals have already committed themselves to the program. We believe that we can make this program work properly," another activist Pariama Hutasoit said.

The scheme of the program is actually quite simple. With a contribution of Rp 500,000 for one nesting period, an individual, or an institution, will be given the honor of being an adopted parent of one turtle nest in the WWF's turtle conservation pilot project at Perancak Beach, Jembrana Regency, some 98 kilometers west of Denpasar.

The money will be used to finance a group of security guards who will patrol the beach on a nightly basis to prevent the poaching of turtle's eggs. Some of the collected funds will also go toward a treatment program for newly born hatchlings, and the development of vital infrastructure at the hatchery.

In return, the adopted parents will receive a certificate of adoption as proof of their environmentally friendly act, and automatic membership of the Friends of the Sea Turtle. The names of those individuals and institutions will also be placed near their respective adopted nests. And, at the end of the nesting period their names will be credited on the WWF's website.

"We will also keep them informed on the incubation of the eggs so they have the chance to be present on the day of hatching," Liza said.

And, after the hatchlings have been imprinted and tagged by turtle experts, their adopted parents will release them to the open sea," Liza described.

During the year 2000 nesting period, at least 63 turtle nests were spotted along a three kilometer stretch of Perancak beach. It was predicted that the number of nests this year would reach around a hundred.

The three-kilometer-long beach has been a WWF turtle hatchery pilot project since 1997. In cooperation with Kurma Asih, a group of local turtle poachers turned turtle lovers, WWF set up a small hatchery and treatment facility on the beach. Perancak was chosen, not only because it is an isolated location, relatively far from all the chaotic buzzing of tourist developments around Bali's southern beaches, but also because this beach has been identified as the nesting spot for at least three different species of turtles; Olive's Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), and Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea).

Meanwhile two other species, the Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) and Loggerhead (Caretta caretta) have been seen on a number of occasions roaming the open sea near Perancak beach.

"We have repeatedly held public meetings to inform locals of the practical concerns of turtle conservation and other environmental issues," Liza stated.

Most of the conservation work, such as guarding the nests and treating the newly born hatchlings, are done by members of Kurma Asih, while WWF provides assistance, mainly financial and technical.

Up to now, this pilot project has succeeded in protecting and taking care of a total of 101 nests with around 9,014 eggs. More than 7,500 hatchlings have been released into the ocean, while ten are kept at the hatchery for scientific purposes.

Impressed by the work of this small group of local fishermen, the Bali Tourism Development Corporation donated Rp 15 million and the provincial government contributed Rp 30 million to the project.

"We would like the project and the Kurma Asih group to be able to become a self-sufficient and sustainable entity in the future. That's the reason why we have introduced the adoption program," Liza stated.

The program is also an entry-point to accommodate the increasing interest among individuals and private institutions in environment-friendly development programs.

There is already a plan to transform Perancak into a kind of ecotourist destination with its conserved mangrove forest, traditional harbor, and turtle hatchery being integrated into one harmonious visual attraction.

"That will demand a lot of hard work, but we are very optimistic about this plan. After all, I believe we have already succeeded in making our first plan -- the turtle conservation pilot project -- a reality," she added.

The success of the Perancak pilot project has proved that strict law-enforcement is not the only option available in conserving the turtle population on an island that has also boasted the highest turtle consumption rate -- as much as 25,000 turtles a year -- in the entire country.

It has also confirmed the WWF's ability and flexibility in creating an effective program, despite the prevailing sensitivity of turtle conservation issues among the majority of Balinese.