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The Appeal

A web page was set up on SEATURTLE.ORG to collect funds for sea turtle tsunami relief and announced to the world on 1 January 2005. The appeal was to “Help our colleagues in areas affected by the recent tsunami in the Indian Ocean. This fund will be used to help rebuild damaged and destroyed infrastructure related to sea turtle research and conservation in the region, and in other ways that are deemed most helpful.” Donation boxes were also placed at the registration desk at the Annual Sea Turtle Symposium held in Savannah, Georgia in January.

In March of 2005 SeaTurtleAide (<http://www.seaturtleaide.com/>) launched a click-to-donate campaign in conjunction with the MTSG and Conservation International to raise funds specifically for the Turtle Conservation Project (TCP) in Sri Lanka. Also in March, TEAM Tsunami, a community service group of 3rd and 4th grade students from Point Dume Marine Science Elementary School in Malibu, California, contacted SEATURTLE.ORG looking for a way to contribute funds they had raised for tsunami relief to Naucrates, an Italian based conservation group working in Thailand.

Status

At time of writing (1 July 2005) a total of US $37,854 has been raised. In addition to receiving ear-marked funds through the tsunami fund, TCP and Naucrates, both heavily impacted by the tsunami, were identified as organizations making significant contributions towards conservation and community outreach efforts in the region. These organizations were also the only ones to provide well defined needs-assessments, which included such items as beach huts, office and kitchen equipment, cleaning and repair supplies, turtle tags and applicators, calipers, binoculars, GPS units, emergency equipment, and more.

To date, just over $21,000 has been sent to Naucrates for their work in Thailand and more than $13,000 to TCP in Sri Lanka. An additional $10,000 in matching funds was contributed to TCP by SeaTurtleAide as a result of their successful click-to-donate campaign. Approximately $3,000 remains to be distributed from the tsunami fund.

All contributions to the tsunami fund are extremely appreciated, but there are a few individuals and organizations that deserve special recognition.

Sea Turtle Inc., of South Padre Island, Texas contributed $10,000 to the tsunami fund specifically to support TCP. Other organizations making large donations included Isle of Palms & Sullivan’s Island Turtle Team (South Carolina), Canalys.com Ltd, and SEATURTLE.ORG.

Through presentations to local community groups and by engaging government officials TEAM Tsunami raised $13,775 during Phase I of their fund-raising efforts.

Attendees of the 25th Sea Turtle Symposium in Savannah contributed $546 during the symposium, and a large number of individual donations were received from symposium attendees through the tsunami fund website. Naucrates was also extremely effective at referring their supporters to SEATURTLE.ORG to make contributions. In all, $11,013 was raised directly through the tsunami fund website.

What’s Next?

The tsunami fund has been a great success; however, the region is still recovering. Popular media interest may have waned, but much more needs to be done. Sea turtle conservation relies upon effective outreach to and support from local communities, and cannot succeed while the local communities are struggling to survive. By supporting organizations that involve local communities in the conservation process we can ensure the longterm survival of sea turtles in the region.

If you have not yet had a chance to contribute to recovery efforts, please take a moment to do so now.

<https://seaturtle.org/tsunami/>

The Indian Ocean South-east Asia Marine Turtle Secretariat continues to maintain an assessment of impacted projects and habitats in the region (<http://www.ioseaturtles.org/tsunami/>). SEATURTLE.ORG will continue to collect contributions on behalf of Naucrates and TCP-Sri Lanka for the foreseeable future.

SEATURTLE.ORG will also continue to work with TEAM Tsunami; currently planning phase II of their fund-raising efforts, which will include presentations to more community groups in their area, encouraging students from other schools to join TEAM Tsunami, and selling special bracelet sets and license plate covers. Check the TEAM Tsunami website (<http://www.teamtsunami.org/>)for more information and an excellent slideshow presentation about the impacts of the tsunami and their work to help with recovery efforts on the island of Koh Phra Thong, Thailand.