'Kurma Asih': Turtle defenders on patrol

By Kyla Evans

When a rare species of turtle suddenly returned, after decades of absence, to nest on the beach in Bali where it was once abundant, local hunters formed themselves into a protection force and now spend much of their time helping to ensure that their traditional turtle population will flourish once more.

PRANCAK BEACH, Bali: Only 90 kilometers down the south-west coast from the main tourist resorts of the island of Bali lies the little village of Prancak. The village head, Wayan Tirta, is a turtle hunter--but he is also moving force behind "Kurma Asih," meaning turtle lovers, a community-based organization which aims to protect turtles.

This is important, because near the village is Prancak beach, a three-kilometer stretch of black sand and one of the few remaining known nesting sites for Olive Ridley and Hawksbill turtles in Bali.

For generations sea turtles swam hundreds of kilometers to lay their eggs on Prancak beach where they were born. Olive Ridley and Hawksbill turtles are about 30 years old when they start to make the long voyage to the beach of their birth to lay their eggs. Once they flourished at Prancak, but demand for their eggs and meat was great and perhaps as many as 50 nesting females and their eggs would be taken from the beach every day to supply the demand in Denpasar, the island's capital.

Over the years, however, such unsustainable exploitation of nesting females took its toll, so that by the 1950s the numbers on the beach were declining. At the end of the decade, no Olive Ridley turtles were recorded nesting on Prancak.

So it was with some surprise that, in June l997, marine biologist Ketut Sarjana Putra--working with the conservation organization World Wide Fund (WWF) in Bali, heard that an Olive Ridley turtles were recorded nesting on Prancak.

Earlier Ketut had been to Prancak to met village leaders and discuss alternative solutions to the use of turtles in religious ceremonies. He had asked for any information about turtles to be passed on to him-so Wayan Tirta called him immediately.

Ketut rushed to Prancak to make sure that the turtle's nest was protected from predators and poachers, and from seawater that can flood the nest and drown the eggs. It was also vital to watch the beach at night to see if any other turtles came to nest and if so, to protect their eggs.

With Ketut's help, Wayan Tirta set up Kurma Asih to carry out the task of monitoring the beach and protecting the nests. Between June and August of that year, 12 turtles were recorded nesting on the beach, and 260 eggs were successfully hatched. five turtles were tagged before being released into the sea.

With the assistance of WWF, the hatching were measured, counted and most of them were kept in pools next to the beach, and used for educating local communities about the importance of protecting turtles.

In l998, more than 600 eggs were successfully hatched, and now Kurma Asih is not only looking after Prancak's turtles but also educating people from other villages about the animals. A WWF staff member has recently moved to Prancak to give the group more training and this knowledge will be passed on to their villages. everyone is involved in the effort to protect the turtles-even the local fishermen, who themselves catch turtles, donate sardines to feed them.

In June l999, Prancak villagers watched as Wayan Tirta released a turtle into the sea. Sulung was two years old, hatched from the eggs of the first protected turtle nest on Prancak beach. The turtle was reluctant to go into the water, but eventually swam off.

Wayan Tirta had taken care of the turtle for two years, and he knew he would probably never see her again. After all, if, she is indeed a female--which is not certain--it will be at least 27 years before she swims back to Prancak to lay her own eggs.

But Tirta remain optimistic. "In many years," he says, " Sulung will come back and my grandchildren will have a gift that I have helped to send them."

The writer is a press officer with WWF International based in Gland, Switzerland.