Adoption, a new initiative to conserve Bali's turtles

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.