Turtle conservation Pemuteran style

By Alpha Savitri

BULELENG, North Bali (JP): Pemuteran village, Gerokgak subdistrict, Buleleng, Bali, is gaining fame as a haven for tourists with a deep love for meditation and the sea as well as a site for a captive breeding program of three rare turtle species.

Until the 1980s, many turtles were laying eggs in the sands of Bali's beaches. Of the world's six turtle species, five have their home in Bali. Unfortunately, turtle hunting has not only left the island's turtles nearly extinct but has also discouraged them from ever visiting Bali's beaches any more.

Luckily, unlike in Denpasar, Pemuteran locals do not hunt turtles for commercial purposes and the turtles proliferate on the warm black sands of Pemuteran.

Pemuteran beach is home to green turtles, turtles with scales and turtles with mock scales. When the eggs of this reptile hatch into tukik (baby turtles), they have a hard beginning because they fall prey to larger animals. As soon as they get into the sea, birds and some large species of fish are ready to gobble them up. Experts estimate that only one out of every 1,000 tukik will survive and mature.

Australian citizen Chris Brown, who has lived in Pemuteran many years, has enlightened the locals as to the importance of conserving all species of turtles in this area. When he learned that turtles were fond of visiting Pemuteran beach, Chris and a number of villagers prepared a special site for a captive breeding program.

In 1994, Pemuteran began its captive breeding program, using only plastic tanks. When it was clear that the tukik could survive, they were released into the sea.

While originally intended only for saving turtles landing on the village beach, the captive breeding program has become an amazing tourist attraction. Tourists visit the village every day to have a look at how the tukik learn to survive.

These tourists are generally divers, nature lovers and environmentalists. They do not just admire the efforts made by Pemuteran villagers to save these rare turtles but they also give moral and financial support.

Every tourist visiting this village and giving financial help is awarded a certificate as evidence of their participation in conserving turtles. The locals use the money collected from these tourists to take care of the tukik.

One American has donated Rp 8 million (US$ 800) for the construction of permanent tanks for the tukik.

Three water tanks, made of cement and measuring three meters by two meters, have been built in a row and the locals have been assigned to take care of these tanks. On Aug. 16 every year, village school children release the turtles into the sea.

"We have chosen this date because the next day is the celebration of our independence day. The children have their celebration in a simple way: they release turtles. It is good environmental education for the children. They learn to love the environment very early in their lives," said Chris.

This environmental campaign for the children is shown to be successful because whenever children from Pemuteran take part in drawing contests, most of them draw turtles.

Apart from making the water tanks for tukik, the locals also prepare a simple place for the turtles to hatch: a sandy area near the tanks.

Generally, the turtles in Pemuteran lay eggs around Gunung Ser, close to the village cemetery. Gunung Ser is a beautiful hilly area in Pemuteran, located not far from the coast.

In December, February or March, a turtle will lay between 100 and 150 eggs. When turtles reach land, they leave a trail. The locals track them and then take the eggs to the captive breeding site. A person taking a turtle egg to this site gets Rp 1,000.

At the breeding site, locals dig holes 30 cm to 40 cm in diameter in the sand. Twenty eggs to 25 eggs are buried in one hole.

The eggs hatch after 40 days to 60 days. However, not all the eggs in each hole hatch as the eggs are very sensitive. "If the eggs are not carefully handled, they may not hatch," said I Wayan Siram, who is responsible for the captive breeding of turtles. He said only 70 percent of the eggs usually hatch.

Not all species of turtles are included in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES). Turtle trading is prohibited. Indonesian ratified CITES in 1978.

At the national level, all turtles are protected pursuant to Government Regulation No. 7/1999. No species of turtles can be commercially used, either dead or alive. Nor can their parts be commercially used.

In Bali, Gubernatorial Decision No. 22/1990 asserts that only a maximum of 5,000 turtles can be captured a year. In Badung, Bali, there is an even stricter regulation, stating that only a turtle with its kerapas measuring 50 cm or more can be captured.

Despite this strict regulation, the trade of turtles and their parts continues to flourish in Bali, particularly in Denpasar and Badung.

Luckily, Pemuteran villagers are willing to preserve the turtles, whose population in Bali is now diminishing. "We use one or two full-grown turtles for our religious rites. We have never benefited from them commercially," said I Wayan Siram.