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Terengganu, Malaysia, which once welcomed thousands of Leatherback turtles to its shores, was the setting for a pivotal meeting to develop a plan for financing the conservation of this highly endangered species. A diverse group of specialists from several disciplines gathered from 17-20 July to consider and brainstorm fundamental issues of concern to Pacific leatherback turtles. The meeting focused particularly on the western Pacific leatherback population of Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands - and to a lesser extent Malaysia, Viet Nam and Vanuatu.
Working groups concentrated on four key areas: the cost of specific actions to protect and manage critical nesting beaches; measures to mitigate fisheries-turtle interactions; the establishment of a trust fund to secure long-term financial support; and institutional arrangements to coordinate these efforts.
 There was – perhaps for the first time ever – a substantial discussion of the modalities of establishing and operating a trust fund that would receive and leverage contributions from a variety of potential donors, including the private sector as well as governmental and nongovernmental bodies.
Representatives of two existing US-based foundations – The Ocean Foundation and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation – explained how such a trust fund might function, and worked with participants to develop the outline of a business plan to create a "Pacific Leatherback Sea Turtle Conservation Fund". This exploratory work will continue over the coming months with guidance from a small steering committee.
The geographic area covered by the IOSEA Marine Turtle MoU intersects, at its eastern extremity, with the western Pacific population of leatherback turtles. Indonesia and Viet Nam are already signatories to IOSEA, with Malaysia expected to follow shortly. Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands are also cooperating within the framework of the so-called Bismarck Solomon Seas Ecoregion (BSSE) initiative. Several of these countries could also be included in an eventual pan-Pacific agreement for sea turtle conservation being contemplated by the SPREP and the Convention on Migratory Species.
IOSEA Coordinator, Douglas Hykle, pointed out that these existing and planned intergovernmental arrangements have an interest in securing funding for measures agreed by their membership, and should therefore be taken into account in the governance of any trust fund that might eventually be created. A coordinated approach with genuine “buy-in” from both Governments and major non-governmental organisations operating in the region would use limited resources more cost-effectively, with less duplication of effort.
The Malaysia meeting was a direct follow-up to the Bellagio Sea Turtle Conservation Initiative, which produced the 2004 “Bellagio Blueprint for Action on Pacific Sea Turtles”.
The gathering was co-hosted and sponsored by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, based in Hawaii.
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