| Date |
Title |
 11 Dec 2003 |
SEASTAR 2000 workshop begins in Bangkok |
| Intro : 11 December – The 4th Southeast Asia Sea Turtle Associate Research (SEASTAR) Workshop has attracted 70 participants from 10 countries for the first of three days of scientific presentations and discussion in Bangkok. |
| 2 Dec 2003 |
Second Meeting of IOSEA Signatory States: March 2004 |
| Intro : The Second Meeting of the Signatory States to the IOSEA Marine Turtle MoU will be held at the United Nations Conference Centre, in Bangkok, from 16-19 March 2004.
Among other things, the meeting will review implementation of the detailed Conservation and Management Plan and will set priorities for future work.
The provisional agenda, registration form and other relevant papers can be found under "IOSEA Meetings". |
| 10 Nov 2003 |
Marine turtle conservation project set to begin in India |
| Intro : The Center for Herpetology and the Wildlife Institute of India are about to begin a major project to help conserve India’s marine turtles. The project will monitor turtles at key sites along the Indian mainland coast and offshore islands and will use a variety of techniques to elucidate their origins and migratory routes. Networking and community awareness and education are important project components.
The project, which is being co-funded by the Convention on Migratory Species, will contribute directly to the implementation of at least a dozen activities called for in the IOSEA Marine Turtle MoU’s Conservation and Management Plan. |
| 7 Nov 2003 |
Bangladesh becomes 16th IOSEA MoU Signatory State |
| Intro : Bangkok, 23 October. The Government of Bangladesh has signaled its continued commitment to the conservation of marine turtles, with its formal endorsement of the Indian Ocean South-East Asian Marine Turtle MoU.
The Ambassador of Bangladesh to Thailand, H.E. Hemayetuddin (pictured here, with IOSEA MoU Coordinator, Douglas Hykle), signed the instrument in Bangkok on 23 October 2003, bringing to sixteen the number of participating countries. |
| 30 Oct 2003 |
World Atlas of Seagrasses |
| Intro : The World Atlas of Seagrasses, prepared by the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and launched on 15 October, provides the first ever global estimate for seagrasses world-wide: 177,000 sq km, an area just two thirds the size of the United Kingdom.
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| 30 Sep 2003 |
Rat eradication programme on Sangalaki Island, Indonesia |
| Intro : Efforts to curb a rapidly growing rat population on Sangalaki Island (Berau District, East Kalimantan) in Indonesia have apparently met with success, as reported by Eberhard Meyer of the German-based Turtle Foundation. Sangalaki is an important nesting site for Green Turtles.
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| 23 Sep 2003 |
Australia Announces National Marine Turtle Recovery Plan |
| Intro : On 29 July 2003, Australia’s Federal Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Dr David Kemp, announced a national recovery plan to boost protection for Australia’s marine turtles.
The numbers of marine turtles nesting on Australian shores have declined dramatically in the past 25 years, Dr Kemp said. For example, in 1976 around 3500 loggerhead females nested on the Queensland coast, whereas only 300 nested in 1997.
The national recovery plan is designed to reverse that decline as a matter of urgency and ensure that turtle populations are restored over the next few decades. |
| 23 Sep 2003 |
Malaysia’s Ma’Daerah Turtle Sanctuary launches community and awareness programme |
| Intro : Turtle conservation in Malaysia received a boost in August with the handing over of a cheque for RM270,000.00 (about USD 71,000) from BP Malaysia and BP PETRONAS Acetyls towards the Community and Education Awareness Programme on Turtle Conservation.
The programme is to be implemented from 2003-2006 by WWF-Malaysia, with the cooperation of the Department of Fisheries Malaysia (DOFM). |
