Marine turtles at the center of a heated debate

By I Nyoman Suryadiputra

BOGOR, West Java (JP): Six of the world's seven species of marine turtle can be found in Indonesia: the leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), green turtle (Chelonia mydas), olive Ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea), hawksbill turtle (Erethmochelys imbricata), loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) and flat back turtle (Natator depresus). The last two species do not nest in Indonesia but are known to feed in Indonesian waters.

In January 1999 the Indonesian government issued Act No. 7 on the protection of endangered plants and wildlife. The act encompasses 236 species of wildlife and 58 plant species which are accorded "protected" status.

Although a large amount of wildlife was already protected by past acts and legislation, the present Act is unique in that it includes species such as the green turtle, a highly migratory species which is still extensively exploited by local communities in Indonesia.

In conjunction with the enforcement of the Act, WWF-Indonesia Wallacea Program organized a seminar on "Conservation and Protection of Marine Turtles in Indonesia" from Aug. 9 to Aug. 11 in Bali.

The participants of the seminar included government officials from various districts, NGOs, turtle entrepreneurs, turtle fishermen, representatives from Balinese traditional communities and members of the media. The seminar was divided into two working groups: Turtle Exploitation and Turtle Protection and Conservation.

In the Turtle Exploitation group a heated debate took place between conservationists and exploiters. Turtle farmers felt that the harvesting of turtle eggs for commercial purposes did not hurt conservation purposes as they were also carrying out hatching efforts. (However, the number of eggs retained for hatching is still relatively low.)

They said that only commercial trade of turtle meat should be prohibited. The turtle egg entrepreneurs also pointed out that Act 7 did not take into consideration the present situation. For instance, some turtle egg traders have secured 10-year contracts or licenses for turtle egg collection ending in the year 2003, whereas Act 7 came into force in January 1999.

From the Balinese local customs perspective, a representative from the local religious group stressed that the permitted quota of turtle meat utilization for traditional/religious rites in Bali could be reduced to 300 to 500 turtles per year compared to the present 5,000 turtles per year.

He called for the consistent implementation of Act 7 and requested that the present quota on turtles be abolished entirely and be replaced by a total ban.

This could certainly have an impact on the lives of the fishermen and entrepreneurs who catch turtles or collect their eggs throughout much of Indonesia's waters (from the coastline of Java to East and West Kalimantan, Irian Jaya and West Sumatra).

The fact remains that most turtle meat consumption in Bali is for nontraditional purposes, as in other areas such as East Nusa Tenggara, southern West Java and the Bird's Head area of Irian. This market has provided a source of livelihood for fishermen (especially outside Bali), who have captured turtles for many generations.

Conservationists strongly supported Act 7, which promotes complete conservation of turtles (eggs, turtle meat and by- products) and advocated its immediate implementation.

The group discussion came out with the following recommendations concerning the utilization of green turtles:

1. There needs to be a phasing-out or grace period before the decision to enforce Act 7 (particularly on the protection of the green turtle) can be effectively made in Indonesia.

Existing concessions granted to turtle traders by some district administrators still have several years to run (e.g. concessions for turtle egg collection in Pangumbahan-Sukabumi, West Java, will not expire until the year 2003).

The phasing-out period should last for five years and be followed by a review as to whether a moratorium on exploitation can be implemented. If a moratorium is applied, and in order to achieve its effectiveness, it is proposed that turtle exploitation be prohibited worldwide.

2. During the 5-year phasing-out period, the following steps need to be taken:

* Extensive promotion of Act 7 has to be conducted nation- wide.

* Awareness programs need to be undertaken especially among coastal communities for the conservation of marine turtles in Indonesia.

* Alternative sources of income must be sought for the communities who catch turtles and collect their eggs (for instance via the development of local community-based ecotourism).

* A turtle conservation fund should be set up, that can only be used to finance turtle conservation activities.

* Turtle and turtle egg exploitation quotas will be proposed by the local government authority to the central government with reference to the opinions of a scientific authority, in this case the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI). The quota for turtle meat consumption should be restricted to traditional purposes and the quota should be reduced from year to year.

* During the phasing-out period, all contracts or concessions for commercial exploitation of turtles or eggs must be concluded and not renewed.

* During the phasing out period, data collection must be carried out at all turtle landing locations to determine the number of turtles and also the number of eggs produced.

* Intensive monitoring has to be carried out in the areas where turtles originate, land and lay their eggs throughout Indonesia. This can be facilitated through local government legislation.

* The number of hatching turtles to be released into the sea has to be increased in stages and the total must reach 30 percent (of the total number of eggs extracted from the natural environment) by the end of the phasing-out period.

* Turtle breeding and farming ventures (e.g. through marine ranching) must be identified to supply turtle meat for traditional customs, so that turtles are no longer captured from the wild for these purposes. Nevertheless, such ventures must abide by IUCN and CITES guidelines.

* Turtle catching equipment (both net mesh size and the size and number of boats) has to be restricted.

* Towards the end of the phasing out period, all the activities detailed above will be reviewed. Based on this review, a decision will be taken as to whether the phasing-out period should be followed by a moratorium program for a specified period of time or by a permanent enforcement of Act 7.

Meanwhile, the discussion group on Turtle Protection and Conservation produced the following recommendations:

* Training is needed on ways to conserve the turtle's living habitat, nesting sites and feeding grounds.

* A Turtle Communication Forum should be set up and a Web site on turtles in Indonesia should be created to extend the forum's information network.

* To support the database on turtles, an inventory needs to be made of turtle nesting sites and feeding grounds and also the strategies used to observe them. The support of the local communities should be sought by involving them in these activities.

* Turtle conservation efforts should be aimed more at the management of nesting sites and feeding grounds.

* To improve turtle conservation in Indonesia, law enforcement must be made effective, by involving the local community.

* A turtle research center should be established in Indonesia From the above discussion it has also been determined which agencies should be responsible for what activities and in the next meetings (hopefully to be conducted annually) the progress of each activity will be reported.

The writer works with Wetlands International - Indonesia Program