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Highlights from the Third Meeting of Signatory States (Bangkok, March 2005)

The Third Meeting of the Signatory States (SS3) concluded successfully on 31 March 2005, with advances in several areas.The Meeting agreed to proceed with a region-wide Year of the Turtle campaign in 2006, which will be launched to coincide with the Fourth Meeting, early next year. The campaign will promote broad turtle conservation themes and is expected to include a suite of local, national, and international activities (see page 17).

The Signatories reviewed an advanced draft of a plan to establisha network of sites of importance for marine turtles. Delegates acknowledged the benefits of such a partnership, including exchange of information and experience, common training opportunities, and leveraging of funds. The criteria for inclusion of sites in the network remain to be developed. The Secretariat will finalise the proposal in the coming months with a view to seeking formal endorsement from Governments.

The Meeting considered a comprehensive analysis of actions undertaken to conserve marine turtles and their habitats of the region (a 4-page executive summary is available from the Secretariat). The document revealed strengths, weaknesses and gaps in reporting and implementation. Participants focused on other co-operative international actions needed to tackle the problem of turtle by-catch in fisheries. Discussions resulted in the passage of a resolution urging the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) and its member States to address marine turtle by-catch issues within the IOSEA region. The Meeting heard excellent presentations from Sri Lanka and Thailand on the impacts of the tsunami on coastal communities and different aspects of the environment, including marine turtles. The Meeting undertook to investigate the tsunami’s impact on the longterm survival of leatherbacks in the IOSEA region. The Government of the United Kingdom has recently allocated funds for this study. A resolution was adopted calling for States and organisations involved in reconstruction and rehabilitation activities to be guided by sound principles of sustainable fisheries and integrated coastal zone management, and to take into account impacts on marine turtles.

Membership

Participation in the MoU has steadily increased to 22 Signatory States, the most recent additions being South Africa (effective 1 May 2005) and Indonesia (effective 1 June 2005). The Secretariat continues to liaise with a number of non-Signatory States to formalise their participation in the agreement. At the recent Signatory State meeting, there was agreement to investigate, in collaboration with the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), the possibility of extending the IOSEA MoU to include interested countries of the Pacific, or consider an alternative option to develop a similar, but separate instrument for that region.

Advisory Committee

The Advisory Committee chose George Hughes to succeed Colin Limpus as Chair of the Committee over the coming year. Dr. Hughes brings to the position many decades of experience in natural resource management from a South African perspective. Five other Advisory Committee members -- Bundit Chokesanguan, Jack Frazier, Colin Limpus, Jeanne Mortimer and Sejal Worah -- also retained their appointments. A new addition to the Committee, Dr. Nyawira Muthiga, from Kenya, has held prominent turtle conservation and marine science roles in Kenya and the Western Indian Ocean, and is Chair of the Kenya Sea Turtle Conservation Committee (KESCOM).

Signatory States agreed to allow observers from each of the four IOSEA sub-regions to contribute to Committee deliberations from this point forward. This move is intended to ensure more balanced geographic representation on the Committee, and to stimulate more feedback from a regional perspective.

Information exchange through the IOSEA Website <http://www.ioseaturtles.org>.

News and features: Since early 2004, Profiles of the Month have been published regularly, detailing successful turtle conservation projects from countries including Australia, Bangladesh, France, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Seychelles and South Africa. Additionally, about 40 features have been added to the homepage since March 2004 with information on project activities, national implementation arrangements, newsworthy events, meeting announcements and new publications, etc.

The use of a web-trawling facility since November 2004 has enabled the website to become a dynamic vehicle for consolidating information from English language media throughout the IOSEA region. Over that same period, links were made to more than 110 individual news stories concerning marine turtle and habitat conservation.

Compilation of information on tsunami impacts: In response to requests for information on the status of marine turtle conservation projects and vital habitats around the Indian Ocean region in the immediate aftermath of the December 2004 tsunami, the Secretariat compiled preliminary assessments of the affected countries. The information gleaned from a variety of sources, mostly in the public domain but not compiled in one place, was periodically updated. The feedback received indicated that it was a useful source of information for those concerned about the fate of the various marine turtle conservation projects around the region.

Electronic Library: The electronic library continues to be populated with useful reference material, including summaries of more than 20 informative PowerPoint presentations delivered at various meetings and workshops; and details of more than 30 useful publications. A new education section allows users to download booklets and posters that have been made freely available.

Interactive Mapping System: The IOSEA website hosts a number of other innovative information tools, including the Interactive Mapping System (IMapS), a collaborative venture with UNEPWCMC, which was launched in February 2004. With its detailed maps of marine turtle nesting from around the IOSEA region, and overlays of important coral reef, mangrove and sea grass habitats, the IMapS remains at the forefront of this kind of interactive information management. The Secretariat has initiated discussions with UNEP-WCMC and the Advisory Committee about a protocol that would allow individual users to input data, subject to a rigorous screening process.

Online Reporting Facility: The Online Reporting Facility, also finalised in 2004, represents a huge advance in the way that information from Signatory States is gathered, consolidated and analysed for management purposes. Almost all of the Signatory States have submitted reports, which are available for public viewing in their entirety or as part of specialised queries. The Online Report Viewer allows users to view and query the contents of all national reports interactively – for example, by a particular country, any of the four IOSEA sub-regions, any of the six MoU thematic objectives, and any one of about 100 individual activities. In addition, nearly 300 discrete sites of relevance to marine turtles have been identified, and the intensity of about 15 potential threats at each site has been rated – all of which can be queried interactively.

Projects Database: The IOSEA MoU Projects Database now contains details of 44 individual projects from 17 different nations located throughout the Indian Ocean, South-East Asia and the South Pacific. The projects address a range of themes related to marine turtle conservation, including tagging, satellite tracking, work with indigenous and local communities, eco-tourism projects, community education and capacity development. The projects also vary in geographic scope, applying to specific beaches, coastlines, regions and countries.

Flipper Tag Series: A new facility has been added to display information about the flipper tag series used in countries around the IOSEA region. At present, there is information from 18 countries – Signatories and non-Signatories alike. MTN readers who are, or have been, involved in IOSEA-region tagging programmes are invited to share details of the tag series used.

Contributions to, and feedback on, the website and its facilities are most welcome. Further enhancements are planned for this year. Individuals and organisations may find it useful to subscribe online to the monthly emails detailing ‘What’s New’ on the site, which are circulated by the Secretariat.

Work programme for the year ahead

As outlined above, there are a variety of core activities that will demand attention in 2006. These include the coordination of the Year of the Turtle campaign, progression of the marine turtle site network proposal, and promoting implementation by Signatory States and others of the MoU’s provisions. To encourage greater collaboration within the region, new sub-regional co-ordination mechanisms will be explored, where these do not already exist, through increased contact with selected intergovernmental bodies. Closer linkages will also be pursued with non-governmental organisations and regional fisheries bodies, who have a critical role to play in managing marine turtle by-catch.

Finally, there remains a need for proactive awareness-raising among decision-makers in Signatory States and non-Signatory Range States, to encourage membership and active participation in the MoU. This work can be facilitated by the synergies arising from the IOSEA Secretariat’s co-location with the UNEP Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.