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2nd
ASEAN Symposium and Workshop on
Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation
| SESSION
1: Management and Conservation |
ABSTRACTS
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COMMUNITY
PARTICIPATION IN TURTLE CONSERVATION IN SRI
LANKA
Thushan Kaparusinghe
Turtle Conservation Project
(TCP) Sri Lanka
Five of the world’s 7 species of
marine turtle come ashore to nest in Sri Lanka. Despite the protection
of marine turtles under government legislation since 1972, marine turtles
are still being exploited by Sri Lankan fishermen for their meat, eggs
and carapaces. The TCP predicts that the marine turtle populations of Sri
Lanka will decline to extinction within the next few decades because of
the above mentioned threats.
However, Sri Lanka’s marine turtle
populations can recover from this inevitable decline, but only if effective
conservation measures are carried out immediately and are continuous for
at least the next 10 years. In order to facilitate the necessary recruitment
of hatchling turtles into the local turtle populations, as many nests as
possible must be allowed to hatch naturally and the hatchlings allowed
to make their way to the sea. Where it is not possible to protect marine
turtle nests "in situ," scientifically managed hatcheries should be established.
Marine turtle by-catch in fishing gear must be reduced, critical habitats
must be protected and rookery-monitoring programmes must be established
at the most significant rookeries. These measures will only be effective
if the coastal communities of Sri Lanka are involved and informed. To achieve
this, coastal communities must be educated about the importance of conserving
the coastal ecosystems on which they depend.
Turtle Conservation Project (TCP)
in Sri Lanka was established in 1993 to address the issue of marine turtle
conservation through research, education and community participation. The
TCP has launched three major community based turtle conservation programmes
to address the identified threats to marine turtles of Sri Lanka.
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