Sea Turtle Conservation Program
ecology foundation/05-02-2023
Indonesia is a country rich in biological natural resources and their diversity. In Indonesia there are six out of seven species of sea turtles that inhabit Indonesian waters, namely the Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas), the Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), the Olive ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea), the Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), the Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta-caretta). and the Flatback Turtle (Natator depressa).
Bintan MPA especially in Area II, Mapur Island, which is the area with the most core zones which is also one of the turtle landing areas for laying eggs, spread over a number of coastal on Mapur Island. Some of these beaches include Belakang Beach, Songseng Beach, Ledang Island, Marapas Island and Busung Mentigi (the results of monitoring by community turtle conservation groups).
​Until now, there is only one community group that routinely conducts patrols and surveillance during the turtle-laying season, which is between April and October. This community group that has been established since 2016 is a group fostered by the Ecology Foundation (YEKR) who already have the ability and knowledge and are trained in handling and protecting or conserving sea turtles through a joint program with the BPSPL Padang - MMAF. The size of the nesting area is not matched by the group's ability to conduct patrols in an effort to protect nesting nests.
The low intensity of turtle-laying landing patrols is due to community groups conducting patrols on the sidelines of their main activity as fishermen and operational limitations. This causes there are still many egg nests that are not monitored so that they become targets for hunting to be traded by some elements. It is recorded that +5,000 eggs each year cannot be saved due to the lack of a monitoring schedule, both carried out by the Government and local community groups.
Based on the explanation above, it is our big goal that the Ecology Foundation wants to play as small a role as possible in supporting the continuation of the Sea Turtle Conservation Program on Mapur Island - Bintan Regency. In the course of this conservation program various attentions and supports began to arrive from the Government, Academics, to Corporate. In addition, this turtle conservation program was prepared by adopting the Turtle Conservation National Action Plan, so that the objectives of this program are expected to be used as an integrated reference.
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