Sea Turtle Conservation

Herda Pamela Hutabarat
Email ID:             
Indonesia

Cipatujah Community Strengthening for Marine Turtle Conservation Management in West Java, Indonesia

Opening the October 2000 Workshop about "Sustainable management of the Marine turtle and its habitat in the southern part of West Java" (collaborative work between ALAMI and WWF Indonesia - Wallacea Programme).

Indonesian waters contain six of the seven species of marine turtle in the world. All six are protected by law, but not all nesting sites are within protected areas. The coastal area of West Java is known as an important nesting site for four species with beaches falling within protected areas, contracted areas (Pangumbahan beach) and an unprotected area - Cipatujah, some eight hours drive south from Jakarta. This is an area at an early stage of development for tourism, where the turtles face threats from egg poaching, shrimp trawling and habitat destruction: however local interviews have revealed concern for the future of marine turtles in the area.

Sorting the rotten eggs from an old nest, as part of the hatchery management study, during the Green Turtle Earthwatch Expedition in Malaysia, July 1999