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.