Turtle conservation Pemuteran style

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.