MARINE TURTLE CONSERVATION IN THAILAND by Dr Robert Mather

MARINE TURTLE CONSERVATION
IN THAILAND
by Dr Robert Mather
Country Representative
World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) - Thailand

MARINE TURTLES IN THAILAND
Globally there are 7 species of Marine Turtles. All are in serious decline throughout most of their range.

Historically, five of these have been found in Thai waters, although there have been no records of the loggerhead turtle in the last 15-20 years.

The four species of marine turtles that can still be found in Thai waters are as follows:

THE LEATHERBACK TURTLE
(Dermochelys coriacea)

Image © WWF Thailand

In Thailand the leatherback is only known to nest on the Andaman Coast. The leatherback has been listed as globally endangered since 1970, and was confirmed as "Critically Endangered in Thailand" in 1996. It is listed in CITES Appendix I, and is also protected by Thai Law (WARPA 2535)

THE GREEN TURTLE
(Chelonia mydas)

Image © WWF Thailand

In Thailand the green turtle is found in scattered areas in both the Andaman and South China Sea coasts, nesting in both areas. They are listed as globally threatened by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and are protected by International Law (CITES Appendix I) and Thai Law (WARPA 2535)

THE HAWKSBILL TURTLE
(Eretmochelys imbricata)
In Thailand, they are found near of-shore islands in the coastal waters of the Andaman Sea, and the northern Gulf of Thailand. Given the worldwide decline in numbers, the Hawksbill is listed as "Critically Endangered" in IUCN's Red List. It is listed in CITES Appendix I, and is protected by Thai Law (WARPA 2535).

THE OLIVE RIDLEY TURTLE
(Lepidochelys olivacea)
In Thailand, the number of nests on three major nesting beaches has declined dramatically from 350 in 1985 to just 11 in 2000. Olive Ridley's are listed as "Endangered" by IUCN, are protected by CITES (Appendix I) and Thai Law (WARPA 2535)

THREATS TO MARINE TURTLES IN THAILAND
Sea turtles have lived on this planet for 130 million years, but egg poaching, habitat degradation, pollution, and over-fishing threaten to make them extinct. Only eight turtles nested on Thailand's southwest coast this year, compared to 350 in 1985.

The main threats to turtles in Thailand can be summarised as follows:

Threats to marine turtles from fisheries
Entanglement (mostly accidental) and drowning in long-line fisheries and shrimp trawling nets
Much of both the coastal and open seas areas used by turtles is also used by fishermen. Because of this, each year, many turtles are killed (often unintentionally) by entanglement in fishing gear and drowning. Some injured and exhausted turtles are released from nets before they die, but their subsequent fate is uncertain.
Threats to marine turtles from consumption and trade
Turtle eggs are also easy to collect, and highly nutritious. In some cultures they are also suggested to have aphrodisiac properties. Turtles have also been hunted for their shells that are used for ornaments, sunglasses and in jewellery. Their hides are cured for leather. In Asia, there has been a long tradition of consuming turtle flesh and eggs for thousands of years. Historically turtle shell has also been traded in the region for hundreds of years.
Threats to marine turtles from coastal development

The construction of seawalls, hotels, marinas, and other infrastructure associated with coastal tourism and commerce, have destroyed large areas of turtle nesting beaches around the world.

Disruptive activities on or near nesting beaches during nesting season, such as activity, noise, lights, etc.

Turtle reproductive behaviour evolved in an environment of deserted, intact beaches. Nowadays, light and noise pollution frequently deter or interrupt many females from successful laying. Hatchlings locate the water's edge by orienting themselves to the horizon, but house and street lights can disorient newly hatched turtles so that they actually crawl away from the sea.
Pollution of the oceans, including chemical contamination
The ingestion of plastic bags and other garbage

MARINE TURTLE CONSERVATION EFFORTS IN THAILAND AND WORLD WIDE FUND FOR NATURE (WWF) SUPPORT

GOVERNMENT EFFORTS AND THE ROLE OF THE ROYAL FAMILY

THE ROLE OF NGOs AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR

THE MAI KHAO MARINE TURTLE FOUNDATION
INITIATED BY JW MARRIOTT PHUKET RESORT AND SPA
Winner of the 2003 PATA Grand Award for Environmental Education

WWF THAILAND'S NEW INITIATIVE:
THE MARINE TURTLE AND HABITAT PROTECTION PROJECT

GOVERNMENT EFFORTS AND THE ROLE OF THE ROYAL FAMILY

Marine Turtles have been given legal protection in Thailand for many years. A Ministerial Decree for implementation of Article 32 (7) of The Thai Fisheries law of 1947 prohibited turtle fisheries, with a fine and/or imprisonment for offenders.

However, turtle egg collection was still allowed under a concession system, supervised by the Department of Fisheries, and export of turtle shell was not prohibited per se.

In the 1960s and 1970s, WWF funded turtle surveys in Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Western Indonesia. By this time, the situation in Thailand was already very worrying. Turtle eggs were being collected on a commercial basis. The harvest was in steep decline, and regulations to limit the harvest were largely being ignored. Even more threatening was the increase in the number of large commercial fishing vessels that were killing large numbers of adults.

With the proliferation of modern motorized fishing vessels, using trawls and push-nets, a further Ministerial Regulation of 20 July 1972 was issued to exclude certain kinds of fishing vessels and fishing gear (particularly push nets and trawls used by boats with engines) from a 3km zone around the entire coast of Southern Thailand. In addition, many coastal areas were subsequently protected as Marine National Parks. However, between 1976-78, Thailand still exported an average of 35,000 kg of turtle shell/year.

Her Majesty Queen Sirikit initiated specific turtle conservation activities in 1979, with instructions to the government of the day. On August 11, 1979, Her Majesty established Her Turtle Conservation project on Man Nai Island off the cost of Rayong in the Gulf of Thailand, donating the island to the Department of Fisheries for the project, with the objectives to:

Promote effective and technically appropriate breeding of marine turtles
Care for adult turtle breeding stock
Disseminate technical knowledge of breeding and conservation of turtles

On November 19, 1980, in line with Her Majesty's wish to improve turtle conservation, the Department of Fisheries asked the Ministry of Commerce to prohibit further export of turtle shell.

In 1980, WWF provided boats to the Marine National Parks Division to undertake status surveys and combat nest poachers at Turatao National Park.

His Majesty King Bhumibhol Adulyadej initiated the Kung Krabaen Bay integrated coastal development research center, established in Chanthaburi 1982, to support and promote sustainable coastal fisheries and aquaculture development.

PHUKET MARINE BIOLOGICAL CENTRE (PMBC)

The Phuket Marine Biological Centre is also active in turtle conservation, including rescue and treatment of stranded/injured turtles (as well as other marine species), turtle breeding, and education/awareness raising.

Dr. Supot Chantrapornsyl of the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) has monitored sea turtle populations along the Andaman coast since 1981. During that time of massive tourism development, the number of turtle nests in Phuket had declined by 95%. Working with Japanese and Malaysian collaborators, Supot has tracked turtle migration routes. Every two to eight years, the turtles swim thousands of miles to breed: from southwest Thailand to India or Burma; from the Gulf of Thailand to Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, and even as far as Okinawa, Japan. Supot and his colleagues glue antennae to the turtles' backs, then monitor the signals for up to one year, until the battery dies and glue dissolves. Sea turtles spend most of their mysterious lives in the ocean, and the males never come ashore.

At any given time, PMBC hosts up to 100 sea turtles in a variety of tanks hoping that, by protecting them for the first six months to three years of life, the turtles' chances of survival to maturity are increased.

THE ROLE OF THE ROYAL THAI NAVY

The Royal Thai Navy provides complete protection for Koh Kram island in the Gulf of Thailand, the largest turtle rookery remaining in Thailand, with approximately 30,000 eggs hatched every year. Most eggs are hatched in hatcheries run by the Navy and the turtles are head-started before release at 3-6 months of age.

The Royal Thai Navy also regularly patrols beaches in the Similan and Surin Islands in the Andaman Sea, for intruders and poachers. They also protect the green and hawksbill eggs laid on the remote islands and keep them safe from predators such as birds and crabs. Once they are born, the turtles are brought to the Navy's turtle protection centre in Phang-nga province where they are nursed for another six months before being released into the sea.

THE ROLE OF NGOs AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the private sector have also worked to prevent extinction of sea turtle species.

In 1987, WWF started to fund protection of nesting turtles in Southern Thailand, supporting the efforts of Wildlife Fund Thailand (WFT), and the villagers of Mai Khao. Since 1996, a small NGO has reduced egg poaching on Koh Phra Tong and two other islands off the coast of Phang Nga Province.

As long as a generation ago, Mai Khao villagers had a tradition of holding "marine turtle walks" After the decline in nesting individuals became obvious as a trend and not just an anomaly, the Mai Khao villagers began to search for ways to conserve the creatures that had become a part of their very culture and traditions, with the support of Wildlife Fund Thailand and WWF.

1990	WFT/WWF small grants program approved a project submitted by the Phuket Environmental Conservation Club to work with Mai Khao villagers on marine turtle conservation.
1991	Established the Mai Khao Marine Turtle Conservation Fund. Egg collection and hatchery and release of hatchlings.
1991-1994	Villagers working on their own with regular consultation and assistance from WFT Coastal Wetlands Conservation Project staff. 1998-2000 WFT received additional funds from the Barbara Delano Foundation. During this period there was an increased interest and participation in the village from other groups including local businesses and the newly established Sub-district Administrative Council (TAO). Activities for the annual hatchling release in April were revived and coordinated with and advertised through the Tourism Authority of Thailand, local hotels, and Internet websites. The event is attended by large numbers of tourists in addition to local villagers. Some international tourists arrange annual vacation dates around attending this event.
2000-2002	Mai Khao Sea Turtle Conservation Fund now working on its own with beach patrol, hatchery operations, annual hatchling release in April. WFT participates in a cooperative/consultative manner.

Throughout the 1990s WWF has also supported WFT's efforts to build capacity of small-sale fishers organizations, and to improve the enforcement of the 3km exclusion zone.

Since July 2000 WWF has also implemented the "Wildlife Trade Campaign" which has focused on educating tourists, as well as those working in the tourism sector, about the status of endangered species in Thailand, their legal protection, and the impacts of the illegal wildlife trade on these species. In addition the campaign has provided training for over 1,000 participants from government enforcement agencies, educational institutes, and the media as well as the tourism sector. Marine Turtles were one of the targets for this campaign, which will continue until late 2004

The small NGO "Naucrates" (Greek for "those who dominate the sea") have worked since 1996 to prevent the extinction of Andaman coast sea turtles. Volunteers patrol fifteen kilometers of Koh Phra Tong's beach early each morning, hoping to reach the nests ahead of egg collectors. Their Sea Turtle Project (see www.naucrates.org) has reduced egg poaching on Koh Phra Tong and two other islands to near zero, demonstrating that an intense and regular conservation program can eliminate one of the main human threats to sea turtles -- at least in the short term.

THE MAI KHAO MARINE TURTLE FOUNDATION INITIATED BY
JW MARRIOTT PHUKET RESORT AND SPA
- Winner of the 2003 PATA Grand Award for Environmental Education

The Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation was launched during the Grand Opening Celebrations of the five-star JW Marriott Phuket Resort and Spa in March 2002, to support the turtle conservation activities of the local Mai Khao communities, as well as the efforts of the Department of Fisheries and Sirinath Marine National Park I education and outreach activities.

A Board of Directors receives written applications for funds. Sub-Committees are responsible for fund raising and disbursement, subject to the approval to the Board of Directors. Representatives of WWF sit on these two sub-committees in an advisory capacity.

When Marriott first announced plans to build a resort adjacent to the protected 17-km Mai Khao beach in northern Phuket, some conservationists and local NGOs staged protests and attacked the hotel company via the media. Marriott responded with a five-part program to protect the turtles:

The company established the Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation with an initial USD 45,000 donation, and later began charging each guest a modest "turtle donation."
The hotel designed its lighting system so the beach would remain dark, turtles could lay their eggs and hatchlings would head into the sea rather than the hotel pool.
The company built a state-of-the art wastewater management system, and preserved vegetation near the seashore to minimize disruption to the ecosystem.
The Marriott brought Dr Robert Mather, Country Representative of WWF Thailand, and Supot Chantrapornsyl, a scientist from the Phuket Marine Biological Centre, to conduct training sessions for members of the hotel staff on sea turtle conservation.So far almost 100 staff have been trained and this will be extended to al staff in the near future.
The resort includes in every room a booklet to educate guests about sea turtles, organizes community turtle release events, conducts educational programs, and hosts an annual "Fun Run" to raise money and awareness for sea turtle conservation.
The same booklet was translated into Thai by Dr Thon Thamrongnawasawat, of the Faculty of Marine Science of Kasetsart University, for distribution to hotel staff and for use in local outreach

In March, the Resort was awarded the 2003 Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Grand Award for Environmental Education.

The Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation Announces First Disbursement of Funds
Please click to view

Contact information:
Lee Sutton (Mrs)
Director of Public Relations
JW Marriott Phuket Resort and Spa
Phuket,Thailand

Email: lee.sutton@marriotthotels.com
Tel: 66 76 338 021 - direct
Fax: 66 76 348 360

WWF THAILAND'S NEW INITIATIVE:
THE MARINE TURTLE AND HABITAT PROTECTION PROJECT

As part of WWF's global and regional efforts in turtle conservation, WWF Thailand aims to build on previous and ongoing efforts in the country, through a new Marine Turtle and Habitat Protection Project. The project will raise funds to support and expand ongoing work on turtle conservation in Thailand.

OBJECTIVES
(i) Improving knowledge base for turtle conservation
(ii) Building collaboration with fishermen for turtle conservation
(iii) Cooperating with neighbouring countries for turtle conservation
(iv) Encouraging public support and political will for turtle conservation

MAIN OUTPUTS AND ACTIVITIES

To improve knowledge base for turtle conservation

Compile existing information about distribution of nesting and feeding sites, and migration patterns, identify gaps and support additional surveys were needed
Improve dissemination of this information through web-sites, a "Turtle Atlas of Thailand" and activities with the Department of Coastal Resources and Royal Thai Navy

To build collaboration with fishermen for turtle conservation

Develop simple materials for fishermen explaining the status of turtles, and the importance of turtle conservation, as well as what to do and who to contact if a turtle gets accidentally caught in their nets
Work together with the Navy, the Department of Fisheries, and the Department of Coastal Resources, to disseminate these materials to fishermen

To develop cooperation with neighbouring countries for turtle conservation

Support cooperation with India, Myanmar, Malaysia for conservation of turtles in the Andaman Sea, as part of the implementation of the broader UNEP agreement on conservation of turtles signed by Indian Ocean States in Bangkok in 2003.
Support cooperation with Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore and Malaysia for conservation of turtles in the South China Sea and Sulu-Sulawesi Sea, as part of the ASEAN MOU on Sea Turtle Conservation and Protection signed by the Senior Official Ministers on 12 September 1997

To encourage public support and political will for turtle conservation

Highlight Thailand's past achievements in, and future commitments to turtle conservation as part of the awarding, and celebration of, a Globally Endangered Species Conservation "Gift to the Earth" to be awarded to their Majesties the King and Queen of Thailand by WWF International in 2004
Develop a programme of information, awareness-raising and educational activities together with the Department of Fisheries, Department of Coastal Resources, and the Royal Thai Navy
Work together with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to develop a National Action Plan for Marine Turtles

Contact information
WWF Thailand Programme
E-mail: wwfthai@wwfthai.org
Tel: 66-(0)-2524-6128 to 9, 66-(0)-2524-6168 to 9
Fax: 66-(0)-2524-6134
Websites:
www.wwfthai.org
http://www.wildlifethailand.org/wwc/
http://www.panda.org

ABOUT WWF
Known worldwide by its panda logo, World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) is dedicated to protecting the world's wildlife and wild lands. The largest privately supported international conservation organization in the world, WWF has more than 1 million members in the U.S. alone. Since its inception in 1961, WWF has invested in over 13,100 projects in 157 countries.

WWF directs its conservation efforts toward three global goals: protecting endangered spaces, saving endangered species and addressing global threats. From working to save the giant panda, tiger, and rhino to helping establish and manage parks and reserves worldwide, WWF has been a conservation leader for 40 years.

Website: www.wwf.org