| Astute
readers may have noticed some delay in
the posting of features last month. Our
tiny secretariat (of two grizzled veterans)
has been troubled by illness and injury,
respectively, which has slowed us down
somewhat, but hasn't halted progress.
Some exciting developments in relation
to the Online Reporting System should
be revealed in the coming weeks.
Plans
to produce a comprehensive Year of the
Turtle 2006 review may take somewhat longer
to come to fruition. This serves as a
reminder that a number of IOSEA grant
recipients have yet to submit their final
reports on activities undertaken during
the YoT. On the Secretariat side, we will
try to process any final payments owing
as soon as possible.
The
IOSEA website received a substantial jump
in hits in March, which brought the year-on-year
increase in hits to nearly 150% since
March 2006. Though much of this can be
attributed to the 'computer robots' that
scour the web incessantly for new information,
one would like to believe that some of
the growth in traffic represents increasing
interest in the information and stories
that are being posted regularly on the
site. In March, for example, the recurring
situation in Orissa, India, and major
seizures of contraband turtles in Malaysia
featured prominently in the news headlines.
In
this issue, you will find an interesting
Profile of the Month on ground-breaking
satellite tracking work that was carried
out in Sri Lanka last year. If you missed
last month's profile on turtle conservation
activities conducted in Yemen by Dr. Alaamri
Abdulaziz A. Moqbil and his team, please
visit the Profile of the Month archive.
Next month, readers will most likely be
hearing about Green and Hawkbill turtles
foraging around the Cocos (Keeling) Islands
of Australia.
For
those of you wondering about the timing
of the next Signatory State meeting: an
application for financial support has
just been submitted to the United States
Marine Turtle Conservation Fund which,
if successful, will increase chances that
a combined technical workshop and meeting
of Signatory States can be held towards
the end of this year or early next.
Following
on from the excellent example set by the
Sultanate of Oman last year, offers from
other countries to host the meeting are
most welcome. Otherwise, the venue will
most likely revert to Thailand -- though
possibly not Bangkok, which has become
substantially more expensive thanks to
the bewildering appreciation of the Thai
Baht over the past year. |
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