Home» Feature (Archive) » 31 July 2006

The Secretariat is pleased to announce the release of a number of new publications on activities conducted under the IOSEA Marine Turtle MoU.

The Report of the Fourth Meeting of the IOSEA Signatory States summarises the discussions that took place in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, from 11-14 March 2006.

This is the hard copy version of the electronic files that have been available for downloading from the 'IOSEA Meetings' section of this website since last May. There, one can also find a list of "Action Points arising from the Meeting".

The Assessment of the conservation status of the leatherback turtle in the Indian Ocean and South-East Asia is the first of a series of species assessments that will be produced in the coming years.  Thanks go out to everyone who contributed to the report, including several members of the IOSEA Advisory Committee.  Apart from being the most comprehensive and recent assessment of the status of the leatherback turtle in the region, the report contains constructive recommendations that warrant serious consideration and follow-up. 

The related Assessment of the impact of the December 2004 tsunami on marine turtles and their habitats in the Indian Ocean and South-East Asia is a useful synthesis of available information in relation to marine turtles.  Notable among its conclusions are the effects of the tsunami on the communities that have collaborated in turtle conservation work for many years.  Both reports can be downloaded as pdf files (2.4MB and 1.3MB, respectively) by clicking on the links above.

These publications have recently been sent by post to a select mailing list of IOSEA contacts; a limited number of additional copies are available upon request from the IOSEA Secretariat.