Bali/Bangkok, August 20, 2008 - An innovative regional agreement is beginning to turn the tide for the ‘ancient mariners’ of the world's oceans.

Marine turtles traverse the seas for thousands of kilometers, returning after decades to nest in the same area 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.

A new report prepared for the meeting of 27 signatories to a region-wide turtle conservation agreement gives the most comprehensive picture to date of how well countries have been tackling these problems.

Much progress is being made. Australia has multi-million dollar programmes in place to support the development of community-driven approaches to turtle conservation and to find solutions to the problem of ghost nets. Indonesia is carrying out advanced research to identify fisheries-turtle interactions and to work with industry to develop suitable mitigation measures. The Seychelles has devised innovative approaches to involve the private sector in practical conservation measures

Eight countries already have in place national action plans focusing on turtle conservation, while another ten are preparing their national strategies. Australia, Oman, Seychelles and South Africa are among the countries that have been monitoring their turtle populations for decades; and several more countries have programmes of longer than 10 years duration.

Douglas Hykle, who co-ordinates the agreement’s activities from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) office in Bangkok, said national reports clearly show signatory states are making greater efforts to monitor, manage and protect their populations of marine turtles.
“Participating countries have made progress in many areas, but there is still room for improvement.  Many have yet to clearly describe their resource needs and to mobilise sufficient funding for domestic implementation; and only a few are carrying the burden of supporting international coordination efforts,” he said.

The overall report card for the region’s marine turtles is mixed. South Africa’s nesting population of Loggerhead turtles has increased markedly with annual nests increasing from 250 to 1,750 over the past four decades. However, the Eastern Australian population of Loggerheads is reported to be in serious decline, a situation mirrored in Madagascar. 

Green turtles, still very abundant in the Sultanate of Oman, have fallen in number in Indonesia and Philippines due to unsustainable egg collection and poaching. Olive ridley turtles, which nest in the thousands in India, are reported to be declining. In Thailand, their numbers are already critically low, and are thought to represent only about five percent of historical levels.

Signatories identified natural phenomena, such as predation, as the most common threat to marine turtles, followed closely by incidental capture in coastal fisheries. Both threats are reported to occur with “moderate to strong” intensity at about 35% of the sites surveyed, covering about 18 countries. Serious threat of egg collection came third in the ranking, identified as a problem at 20% of the sites in 14 countries. Traditional consumption of meat and eggs still occurs in three-quarters of the Signatory States canvassed.

Attention is being focused squarely on fishing impacts. Set gill nets are reported by half of the Signatories to have serious impacts on turtles. By-catch in shrimp trawls has been identified as a problem, yet less than a third of the members have effective systems in place to address it. Other harmful illegal fisheries have been documented, including what appears to be a resurgence of destructive fishing methods using dynamite and poison.

Coastal development, including negative consequences of tourism, is also under the spotlight.  Dr. Jack Frazier, Chairman of the programme’s Advisory Committee, said: “Coastal development - especially for tourist facilities - has been proceeding very fast in much of the Indian Ocean region. The chances for negative impacts on nesting beaches, as well as on inshore foraging and resting areas for turtles have increased, and are continuing to increase, dramatically.”

Official delegations from more than 30 countries are expected to attend the Bali conference. The meeting will review the implementation of an ambitious conservation and management plan containing 24 programme areas. Particular attention will be given to coastal development issues and fisheries interactions with marine turtles – with mega-projects in India and the tuna longline industry in Indonesia serving as case studies. The meeting will also discuss the possible creation of a network of critical sites for marine turtles.

New tools for exchanging information and monitoring marine turtle numbers, such as the recently upgraded IOSEA Online Reporting Facility will be introduced. The online database http://www.ioseaturtles.org/report.php has information on more than 700 sites of importance for marine turtles throughout the Indian Ocean and South-East Asia. Users can query the system to obtain information on where a turtle species occurs, the threats they face at a given site, the mitigation measures that are being implemented, as well as the research activities being carried out. All of the information can be overlaid on high resolution satellite imagery available online from Google Maps.

Notes to Editors:

The IOSEA (Indian Ocean – South-East Asia) region includes the ranges of six of the world's seven species of marine turtles.   The Marine Turtle Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation and Management of Marine Turtles and their Habitats of the Indian Ocean and South-East Asia was concluded under the auspices of the Convention on Migratory Species in 2001.  Signatories to the agreement commit to putting in place measures to conserve the region's marine turtle populations and the habitats on which they depend.  Website: www.ioseaturtles.org
Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Comoros, Eritrea, India, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Jordan, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, United Kingdom, United States, and Viet Nam are currently signatories to the memorandum.  The Government of Yemen is expected to sign the agreement on 20 August 2008, bringing to 28 the number of Signatory States.

The conference, taking place from 20-23 August 2008 at the Sanur Plaza Hotel, Bali, will be opened by the Indonesia’s Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, H.E. Freddy Numberi.  The event coincides with the transmission to broadcasters across the Asia-Pacific region of a stunning educational DVD titled “Sea Turtles – Our Ocean Ambassadors”.

UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME (UNEP)
UNEP is the United Nations system’s designated entity for addressing environmental issues at the global and regional level. Its mandate is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action. www.unep.org

UNEP REGIONAL OFFICE FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
The Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples in Asia and the Pacific to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations. It works with governments, local authorities as well as industry to develop and implement cleaner and safer policies and strategies that encourages efficient use of natural resources and reduces risks for humans and the environment.
www.roap.unep.org

For more information please contact:
Nick Nuttall, Spokesperson/Head of Media, UNEP on Tel: +254 20 7623084, Mobile: +254 733 632755 or +41 795965737, E-mail: nick.nuttall@unep.org
Or Anne-France White, Associate Information Officer, at tel: +254 20 762 3088, Mobile: + 254 728600494, or e-mail: anne-france.white@unep.org.
Ms. Satwant Kaur, Regional Information Officer, UNEP, Bangkok, phone +662 288 2127; mobile: +66839086000, e-mail:  kaur@un.org   
Mr. Douglas Hykle, IOSEA Coordinator / Senior CMS Advisor, Bangkok, phone +662 288 1471 (except 17-28 August 2008); alternate phone (Bali): +62 8585 7213 459; e-mail: iosea@un.org

UNEP ROAP News Release 08/10