Turtle breeding draws experts

PRAMUKA ISLAND: Four international experts visited a turtle breeding center on Pramuka in the Thousand Islands Marine National Park in Jakarta Bay Wednesday.

The center, one of a few such facilities in the world, was accorded international fame after President Soeharto and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl visited in October to observe the hatching of Hawkbill turtle eggs.

The latest visitors were Dr. Col Limpus of the Australian Department of Environment, George H. Balazs of the Hawaii-based IUCN Marine Turtle Specialist Group, Naoki Kamezaki and Hiroyuki Suganuma, both of the Sea Turtle Association in Japan.

"Such centers are rare in the world. It's appropriate for Indonesia to have one because most turtle species are found here," Limpus said.

"All centers employ different methods, so I can't compare one with another," he said.

The experts later visited the nearby Peteloran island, which is a protected site for turtles to lay eggs.

The breeding center was established in 1984 as a joint project between the Ministry of Forestry's Directorate General of Forest and Nature Conservation and Japan's Bekko Association. (05)