Tawun once a haven for freshwater turtles

Tawun once a haven for freshwater turtles

Singgir Kartana, Contributor, Ngawi, East Java

A decade ago, Tawun village, Padas district, Ngawi regency, East
Java, was still noted for its bulus or small freshwater turtles.
These reptiles were found in nearly every part of the local river
and also in almost every pond in this village. Locals, however,
simply let them live freely as nature had intended.

"When I was young back in the 1930s, the stream in front of
this house had a lot of turtles in it. There were thousands of
them but the locals did not bother to catch any of them. Instead,
they often fed them," said 80-year-old Diyun.

He said that there were two species of turtles in Tawun. The
first species was completely black while the other had yellow
spots on their black shells. Locals call the latter bulus ceplok

These turtles, about 40 or 50 centimeters in diameter, are
shier than the black ones, said Diyun, who has six grandchildren.

"Don't get close to them if you want to have a look at them.
Feed them first and then watch them from a distance," he said.

The locals in Tawun have no desire to cause trouble for the
turtles as they believe the reptiles are sacred animals. The
turtles, so the local legend goes, first came from an 80-square-
meter pond called Sendang Tawun. They were kept by Ki Ageng
Tawun, a descendant of the Majapahit royal family who the Tawun
villagers claim as their ancestor.

"This pond is the place of origin of the turtles. So while the
turtles are increasingly rare in the village, you can still find
a lot of them in the pond. The presence of these turtles in the
pond is something that attracts tourists to visit this place,"
said Kaswadi, who lives close to the pond.

Sendang Tawun, located about seven kilometers east of Ngawi
town, has been a tourist area since 1952. Tourists are attracted
here on account of the forests and hilly terrain.

The pond, whose pristine water never runs dry even during the
height of the dry season, is a good place for swimming,
especially for children. Despite the arrival of many tourists,
the turtles, the biggest attraction in Tawun village, continue to
live undisturbed in the pond.

The early 1980s, however, saw a decline in the population of
the turtles in Sendang Tawun. The reptiles were caught in great
numbers and sold in areas outside the village. As the locals
began to realize that the turtles could produce money, they also
started to catch and sell them to middlemen. At first, they
openly caught these turtles but later they did it secretly
because the village elders prohibited the practice.

After the country was hit by the acute economic crisis in
1997, the illegal catching of turtles in Tawun reached its peak.

The middlemen were ready to buy these turtles at much higher
prices, therefore prompting locals to intensify their efforts to
catch them. In those years, a turtle, generally weighing between
eight and 10 kilograms, would fetch a price of Rp 8,000 a
kilogram. Understandably, the locals were very keen on selling
them.

Later, however, the locals realized that the population of
turtles in their village was declining. Following this
realization, about three years ago they agreed to save the
turtles from extinction. They also agreed that nobody, locals or
otherwise, would be allowed to catch the turtles any more.
As a result, illegal turtle catching has now be significantly
reduced.

"Of course, there are still cases of illegal catching. Four
months ago, for example, the locals found two persons illegally
catching turtles here. They were beaten up before they were taken
to the local military command," Diyun said.

Today, Sendang Tawun looks more beautiful than ever. It has
been turned into a recreational park and placed on the list of
tourist attractions in Ngawi regency. A local investor, CV Naga
Mas, which is owned by Tabib Muslim, now manages the park on a
25-year contract basis. The area has also been provided with
tourist facilities and infrastructure. About Rp 1 billion has
been spent on the tourist project.

If you go there, you can find a swimming pool, and a cheap
lodging place (only Rp 20,000 per night), an children's
playground and a well cared-for park. To enter the tourist area,
you have to pay Rp 2,000. Every Sunday, the site is crowded with
visitors. Traditional and modern art performances are put on
during holidays and the Muslim post-fasting festivities. To
popularize this spot among tourists, the name has been changed
from Taman Tawun to Bukit Tawun Ketawang Indah.

"Since its renovation in 1992, the area has seen an increasing
number of visitors. Unfortunately, despite a ban on this, many of
the visitors throw garbage into the pond. That's why the turtles
cannot live in peace there now," said one of the men in charge of
looking after the pond.

The locals' awareness of the need to conserve their turtles
deserves appreciation. Despite the construction of tourist
facilities and infrastructure, the Tawun locals continue to
ensure that their turtles, which may now be considered rare, can
live as peacefully as possible.

In this context, it would be a good idea for the Ngawi regency
administration to issue a regulation to protect these turtles so
that they will be saved from extinction.