seaturtle.org : MTN : ARCHIVES : Sign In

Several new members were appointed to assure appropriate regional and thematic representation of the Group. These include: Charlie Manolis (Australia), Grahame Webb (Australia), Lalith Ekanayake (Sri Lanka), Mario Boza (Costa Rica), María José Barragán (Ecuador), Zahirul Islam (Bangladesh), Basudev Tripathy (India), Ana Barragán (Mexico), Jose Miguel Donoso Pastor (Chile) and Carlos Drews (Costa Rica). Additionally, we hired a Washington D.C.-based Program Officer, Brian Hutchinson, to help fill the void left by Marydele Donnelly, whom we thank for her many years of faithful service.

The last time you heard from us we were knee-deep in preparations for the MTSG Vision Meeting. We are happy to report that this meeting was held from 16-19 December 2003, in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, USA, and was a grand success. Thanks to MTSG
member and USFWS employee, Debby Crouse, we were able to hold the meeting at the state of the art National Conservation Training Center. Over 30 MTSG members and relevant non-members from 9 countries participated in the retreat. Among those invited were representatives from the SSC, including SSC Chair, David Brackett.

This very productive meeting was an important step in getting the MTSG realigned with its new leadership, and allowed us to re-assess our vision and mission, as well as tackle some lingering issues. In the near future, a full report and minutes of this meeting will be posted on the MTSG Website and circulated to the entire membership for review and comment. In the meantime, below are some of the outputs of the Vision Meeting. These include a new Vision Statement, Mission Statement, and an expert opinion-based, ranked list of "Burning Issues" for global sea turtle research and conservation.

• New Vision Statement - "We envision marine turtles fulfilling their ecological roles on a healthy planet where all peoples value and celebrate their continued survival."

• New Mission Statement - "To develop and support strategies, set priorities, and provide tools that promote and guide the conservation of marine turtles, and their ecological roles and habitats.

• We accomplish this by:

1. Providing advice and practical support to those who manage and conserve marine turtles;
2.Using and synthesizing the best multidisciplinary science and information and innovative approaches;
3.Ensuring that conservation is guided by the biological constraints of marine turtles such as delayed maturity, long distance migrations and dependence on multiple habitats;
4.Building and promoting diverse and dynamic partnerships among stakeholders including local communities to ensure effective networking and synergy;
5.Promoting universal appreciation of the values of marine turtles and their habitats through varied means to diverse people;
6.Building capacity to educate, inspire, and empower people to conserve marine turtles and their habitats;
7.Recognizing that marine turtles are a shared international resource;
8.Promoting conservation and population monitoring efforts that are long-term in nature and anticipate environmental change;
9.Integrating local, national, and international conservation efforts;
10.Recognizing that marine turtle conservation is integrally linked to broader conservation issues."

Table 1. "Burning Issues" in marine turtle conservation, prioritized based on a "paired ranking" exercise:

Table 2. "Burning Issues" in marine turtle research:

• Species-based "Burning Issues" - NOTE: This list was made based on expert opinion and did not involve detailed analysis. It must be emphasized that the list is not considered comprehensive or representative of the opinion of the entire membership. It is principally intended as a tool for fundraising.
- Leatherbacks of the Pacific
- Hawksbills of the Eastern Pacific
- Pacific Loggerheads
- Western Atlantic Olive Ridleys
- All East Atlantic / West African Turtles
- All Southeast Asian Turtles
- Mediterranean Green Turtles
- Orissa Olive Ridleys
- Leatherbacks of the Southern Indian Ocean

A number of recommendations came out of the meeting such as improving communications within the MTSG and the SSC, clarifying membership roles, increasing transparency, recognizing minority opinions, and others. We are already working hard to address these issues and will continue to do so.

Most recently, the MTSG Annual General Meeting was held on the final day (27 February) of the 24th Annual Sea Turtle Symposium in San José, Costa Rica. Minutes have been circulated via the MTSG-L email listserv and are posted on the MTSG website: http://www.iucn-mtsg.org/meetings.shtml. Highlights from this meeting include a partial report of the Vision Meeting, a presentation from Michael Coyne on member information sources, and the MTSG "Personality of the Month" feature.

We look forward to another productive year working with the MTSG. If you are a member and would like to request hard copies of any of the above mentioned documents, including meeting minutes and materials from the website, please contact Program Officer, Brian Hutchinson, whose contact information is provided above.