|
As mentioned above, the long-awaited upgrade
to the Online Reporting Facility is reaching
an end, with beta testing of the new 'Editor'
having begun this past month. Focal Points
from Australia, Bahrain, Kenya, Philippines,
and South Africa have agreed to provide
feedback on their use of the new system
in the coming weeks. It is expected that
a similar test of the new 'Viewer' can
commence by the end of June.
This
past month the Co-ordinator was called
upon to don his other Convention on Migratory
Species "hat" and take up the
cause of a (very) distant relative of
the sea turtle, the endangered Siberian
Crane which migrates from breeding grounds
in northern Russia and winters in China,
Iran and, formerly, India. The 11 Signatory
States and partners to this other pioneering
CMS Memorandum of Understanding met for
five days in Almaty,
Kazakhstan. Though the connection
between modern cranes and sea turtles
may appear tenous, some valuable lessons
learned in establishing a network of important
sites under the Siberian Crane MoU may
eventually be useful in the IOSEA context.
In this issue of e-News, we revisit the
Islamic Republic of Iran where Asghar
Mobaraki and Amir Mohammad Elmi have continued
the tagging programme started in 2005
with support from IOSEA. If you happen
to have missed last month's profile on
the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, a paradise
for Green and Hawksbill turtles in the
eastern Indian Ocean, please visit the
Profile
of the Month archive.
We always welcome contributions of extended
profiles of significant "turtle places",
research findings and topical issues to
feather in the Profile of the Month section.
Please drop us a line to reserve a future
slot in the calendar.
|
