Tourist paradise fights to save endangered green turtles

Tourist paradise fights to save endangered green turtles

By I Wayan Juniarta

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): The Bali administration has begun to take
a stronger approach to the turtle trade business, which for many
years has stained the paradise's image abroad. Thousands of
turtles are traded and consumed every year.

Some internationally recognized environmental non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) have labeled Bali as the turtle slaughter
island.

The Bali governor, in Gubernatorial Decree No. 243 issued on
June 12, 2000, states that the trade of endangered and protected
species, including the green turtle, is prohibited. The decree
terminates the previous decree, No. 22/1990, which allowed up to
5,000 green turtles to be traded in Bali per year.

"It is a real shift in policy. Now we only ask the government
to enforce the decree consistently," WWF's Wallacea Bio region
deputy director Ketut Sarjana Putra said.

Following the issuance of the decree, a patrol speed boat
belonging to the Bali office of the Natural Resources
Conservation (KSDA) intercepted a suspicious-looking ship off the
shore of Tanjung Benoa fishing village some 35 kilometers south
of Denpasar, which is known as the center of turtle trade in
Bali, on Oct. 2, 2000 at about 12:30 p.m. local time.

"It was a joint operation by several government agencies, such
as the office of the Bali Prosecutor's Office, the Bali Police,
the Benoa Naval Base and KSDA," Adam Mustofa, the KSDA officer,
said.

Mustofa also stated that the operation signaled the shifting
of the Bali government's approach to the turtle trade business.

"Following the issuance of the decree, the government has
launched various persuasive and preventive efforts, and now we
believe the time for stronger measures has come," Mustofa said.
"For the first time, we have organized a joint operation, aiming
solely at intercepting turtle poacher ships."

After forcing the ship to stop, several armed officers from
the Bali Police and Benoa Naval Base boarded the ship. A search
conducted by the officers found 93 green turtles (Chelonia mydas)
held captive on the ship.

The ship's captain, Maliyani, confessed that he and his five
men had just returned from a six-day journey of turtle poaching.
Most of the 93 turtles were caught in the seas of Northwest
Sulawesi.

It later turned out that the ship belonged to Widji Zakariah
(45), who is also known as Wewe, a Tanjung Benoa-based turtle
dealer.

A well-informed source disclosed that Wewe was one of the most
important players in the business, and that he, through his many
generous financial contributions, was well-connected to the
influential village Desa Adat Tanjung Benoa.

Wewe later refused to sign official documents on the capture
of his ship and the seizure of the turtles. He even angrily
argued that the Desa Adat Tanjung Benoa officials must first be
notified when the government conducts a similar operation in the
future.

"He tried to protect his shady business by manipulating Desa
Adat's powerful influence. And he kept refusing to sign any
documents we prepared on the operation," Mustofa said.

The officers were also facing a different problem; finding a
holding pen which was large enough to temporarily accommodate the
confiscated turtles. The KSDA had a holding pen of limited
capacity, while no other agencies had one.

"Finally, we decided to entrust Wewe with the safekeeping of
the turtles. We made it clear to him that the turtles were state
evidence, and must be handled with care," Mustofa said, adding
that the officers took only one turtle to the KSDA holding pen.

Within one day, Wewe had disposed of the state evidence, the
officers reported when they visited Wewe the next day. They only
found 14 turtles left. Wewe had sold the 79 turtles named as
state evidence, an officer said.

"Now we can charge him with illegal poaching, transporting and
trading endangered and protected species, as well as obstructing
justice," another officer said in disbelief after learning of the
destruction of state evidence.

The Bali Police interrogated the ship's captain and crew, and
Wewe is scheduled to be questioned on Oct. 13.

While the law officers are trying to settle the case,
environmental NGO activists are working harder at persuading the
villagers of Tanjung Benoa to leave the turtle trade.

"We have to also convince them that any legal action taken by
the government is not by any means aimed at destroying their
life. And that the business has only enriched a small number of
people, namely the dealers, while the majority of fishermen live
in poverty," a WWF's Wallacea Bio region activist, Putu Liza
Kusuma Mustika, said.

For years, the turtle trade was a primary source of living for
hundreds of Tanjung Benoa fishermen. Tanjung Benoa has become the
sole supplier of turtles and turtle meat for hundreds of
restaurants and food stalls scattered across the Denpasar and
Badung areas.

According to KSDA, the number of turtles transported to Bali,
mostly to Tanjung Benoa, reached 15,480 in 1995. It decreased to
14,260 in 1997, and 6,987 in 1998. But a report prepared by a
Malang-based NGO, Animal Conservation for Life (KSBK), estimated
the total reached 28,254 in 1999.

KSBK's report also stated that the price of each turtle ranged
from about Rp 200,000 for a small size to Rp 500,000 for a turtle
with a carapace which was 80 centimeters to 90 centimeters in
length. Meanwhile, the price of turtle meat ranged from Rp 20,000
to Rp 25,000 per kilogram.

With the capture of Wewe's ship and the shifting of government
policy, the activists worried that there might be unrest in
Tanjung Benoa.

Three environmental NGOs -- WWF, KSBK and the Center for
Environmental Education (PPLH) -- have repeatedly approached Desa
Adat Tanjung Benoa to find an alternative solution to the
problem.

A series of meetings held last August between the NGOs and
Desa Adat Tanjung Benoa produced an initial commitment in which
Desa Adat agreed to stop any illegal turtle trade activity in its
area. As compensation, Desa Adat asked the government for the
right to manage some 10 hectares of a mangrove area on the west
side of Tanjung Benoa.

"Desa Adat wanted to transform the area into some kind of
turtle conservation center for tourists so it could get a new
source of income, and at the same time, it also would provide
jobs for the former turtle poachers," an activist said.