MARINE TURTLE AGREEMENT REVIEWS PROGRESS

MARINE TURTLE AGREEMENT REVIEWS PROGRESS

Countries Showing Greater Commitment to Conservation;

At Least Three More States to Sign Up to Regional Plan

(Reissued as received.)

BANGKOK, 16 March (UNEP) -- An innovative regional agreement is beginning to turn the tide for the ancient mariners of the world’s oceans.

Marine turtle experts meet in Bangkok this week to review progress one year after the secretariat for the Indian Ocean and South-East Asia Marine Turtle Memorandum of Understanding was established.

Australia and the United States have recently announced increased funding for turtle conservation projects in the region, while Jordan, Pakistan and the Sultanate of Oman are expected to add their signatures to the Memorandum when the meeting kicks off today.

Douglas Hykle, who co-ordinates activities under the MoU from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) office in Bangkok, said national reports show signatory States are making greater efforts to monitor, manage and protect their populations of marine turtles.

Across the vast region, marine turtles are receiving more attention as charismatic ambassadors of the ocean, linking conservation on land and sea, according to Dr. Colin Limpus, Chair of the Memorandum’s Advisory Committee.  “In the Gulf region there are new reports showing healthy populations of hawksbill turtles in areas that have been severely impacted by military conflict.  In Timor-Leste, marine turtle conservation is being integrated in assistance programmes aimed at the sustainable management of marine resources.”

The IOSEA Marine Turtle MoU, concluded under the auspices of the Convention on Migratory Species, puts in place measures to conserve the region’s marine turtle populations and the habitats on which they depend.

Marine turtles traverse the seas for thousands of kilometres, returning after decades to nest at the same location where they entered the world as tiny hatchlings.  They are threatened by degradation of critical habitats on land, interaction with fishing gear at sea, and excessive harvesting of eggs and for meat.

The meeting will review the implementation of an ambitious conservation and management plan containing 24 programme areas.  Particular attention will be given to two turtle conservation “hotspots” -- Bali, Indonesia, and Orissa, India -- where fishing and harvesting pressures are impacting regionally significant populations of green and olive ridley turtles.

Mr. Hykle said that government commitment to enforcing fishing and harvesting regulations was essential for the recovery of the most threatened populations.

The meeting will discuss the creation of a network of critical sites and guidelines for turtle hatcheries.  New tools for exchanging information and monitoring marine turtle numbers, such as the recently launched Marine Turtle Interactive Mapping System (ImapS) will be introduced.  Delegates will also consider extending the agreement’s scope to include countries such as Japan, China and Republic of Korea whose neighbouring seas are included in the range of the turtles.

Official delegations from 25 countries are expected to attend the conference, along with a strong contingent of non-governmental observers.  The IOSEA marine turtle agreement is the largest and most comprehensive of its kind, with core donor support of over a half million dollars so far, and millions more spent on national recovery programmes.

The IOSEA region includes the ranges of six of the world’s seven species of marine turtles.

Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Comoros, Islamic Republic of Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Myanmar, Philippines, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, United Republic of Tanzania, United Kingdom, United States and Viet Nam are currently signatories to the Memorandum.

The conference will be held at the United Nations Conference Centre, Bangkok, from 16 to 19 March 2004.

For more information please contact:  Tim Higham, Regional Information Officer, UNEP, Bangkok, tel.: +66 2 288 2127, mobile: +66 9 1283803, e-mail: higham@un.org; or Jim Sniffen, United Nations Environment Programme, New York, tel.: +1-212-963-8094/8210, e-mail: info@nyo.unep.org, Web site: www.nyo.unep.org; or visit the IOSEA Marine Turtle Memorandum of Understanding Web site at http://www.ioseaturtles.org/.

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