Marine turtles at the center of a heated debate

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