Turtle breeding draws experts

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)