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| Wednesday, 16 February 2005 |
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Lanka's turtles fighting the blade of extinction by Florence Wickramage Sitting on a lonely stretch of beach at night until well past midnight is an experience that I will cherish throughout my life. The only sound which interfered with the peaceful atmosphere was the roar of the waves as they gently rolled on to the shore and receded with a `swish' fretting the sea sand. It was low tide and the placid grey sea stretched far and wide endlessly. In the far distant horizon were a few specks of light - emanating from a junk or two taking daring fishermen out to sea. On one side of this stretch of beach were the lights of Tangalla while on another side were high stabilised sand dunes and beach vegetation forming a bay.
Pondering on the mystery of the infinity and the majesty of the sea; where the sky with its stars end and the earth with her lights begin; I sat on this beach intoxicated with the beauty which was all around me. This was Rekawa beach poised to be declared as Sri Lanka's FIRST TURTLE REFUGE. A group of us journalists was on a night vigil keeping watch eagerly for turtles to come in for nesting. Our expert guides showed us signs of turtle footprints from the sea to the shore and `body-pits' they have dug in the sand for nesting. At certain such body-pits there were pieces of broken egg-shells in the egg-chamber, proving the fact that hatchlings would have made their way back to the sea. Luck passed us by that night... and close upon half past midnight we wended our way back to our temporary refuge that night - the Tangalle Rest House.... thankful for the experience ... yet sad that the turtles thought "there are intruders in our beach tonight... so we will keep away". Workshop A visit to the Rekawa beach was part of the Tsunami and the Environment Media Field Workshop the IUCN Sri Lanka office organised, in honour of the World Wetlands Day- February 02nd. The field visit covered the coastal stretch from Colombo to the Bundala National Park in Hambantota. The theme this year was "There's Wealth in Wetland Diversity - Don't Lose It". During the tsunami, many of the natural barriers that reduced the impact were wetlands and the workshop aimed to increase public awareness of the significance of sustainable management of our coastal wetlands, critical in this time of crisis. The field study covered sites in the Lunama-Kalametiya, Rekawa, Ambalantota and Bundala areas. "Millions of years, before man colonized Sri Lanka, sea turtles had been coming to the undisturbed beaches of this island to lay their eggs. Five out of seven species of sea turtles come ashore to nest in Sri Lanka. All five species are listed by the IUCN as either critically endangered or endangered". Rekawa and Kosgoda are among our important beaches frequented by turtles. The five species : the Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas), Leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys Coriacea), Olive ridley Turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea), Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta) and the Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) come ashore to nest in our beaches. Established in 1993, The Turtle Conservation Project (TCP) Sri Lanka started its pioneering conservation programme in Rekawa in 1996 with the aim of protecting sea turtles in their natural habitats while providing alternative sources of income to local people formerly dependent on the illegal collection of turtle eggs. The TCP initiated its second conservation programme in Kosgoda in August 2003. Surveys have revealed that almost 100% of the sea turtle nests occurring on the Kosgoda beach are robbed of their eggs. The eggs are, either consumed raw on the spot, sold to private dealers for distribution and consumption or sold to turtle hatcheries. Between 1996 and 2000, the TCP has carried out a participatory in situ nest protection and research program in Rekawa. This model project was established to directly address the problem of marine turtle exploitation at Rekawa beach. The programme employed 17 former turtle `egg-poachers' as `nest protectors' to assist research officers in the collection of biological data. In order to make this programme increasingly self-sustainable the TCP organised nocturnal `Turtle Watches' for fee-paying visitors. The Rekawa Community in Situ Marine Turtle Nest Protection and Research Programme has been successful. A nature trail was established in 1999 in Rekawa in addition to the many community based educational and research programmes launched islandwide by the TCP towards the conservation of turtles. Endangered Despite the international legislation and the local protection of marine turtles by government legislation since 1972, marine turtles are still being extensively exploited in Sri Lanka for their eggs and their meat. Reports say that in addition, turtle nesting beaches are being disturbed by tourist industry development, and feeding habitats such as coral reefs, sea grass beds are being destroyed by pollution and unsustainable harvesting. Many turtles are accidentally caught and drowned in fishing gear each year, while the critically endangered hawksbill turtle has been hunted to the brink of extinction for its carapace to provide raw materials for the illegal `tortoiseshell' trade. The most widespread form of marine turtle exploitation in the country is the illegal poaching of turtle eggs for human consumption or for sale to unscientifically managed `tourist attraction' turtle hatcheries. Recent newspaper reports highlighted that the temporary set-back imposed on the sale of sea-fish by the tsunami has prompted fishermen in the coastline between Mannar and Talaimannar to resort to killing turtles for their livelihood. Thushan Kapurusinghe of the TCP said that a record 5000 turtles were reportedly killed last year as additional catch by fishermen in Mannar, Talaimannar, Negombo, Chilaw and Kalpitiya. The majority of the turtles were caught during the first two months of the year. He further added that almost one million turtles gather to the beaches of Orissa during the first two months of each year for mass nesting and they head to Sri Lankan shores seeking ocean foliage for food. Many of these turtles get entangled in fishing nets during this journey and last year alone local fishermen had recovered 22 turtle tags by the Indian Wildlife Institute tied on female nesting turtles. It had been a traditional practice since around 1843 of fishermen in the North, North Western and the Eastern coastal belts to kill turtles for meat and in the southern coastal belt to traditionally collect turtle eggs for consumption. Turtles Marine turtles have inhabited the earth for over 100 million years. They are a successful group of animals that have witnessed the rise and fall of the dinosaurs and, until relatively recently, have survived in great numbers. Today seven species of this ocean dwelling reptiles remain. All of them are now threatened with extinction due to man's destructive activities. All around the world, populations of marine turtles are declining. Turtles are assumed to have a life-span greater than 80 years. Most of the species are highly migratory, moving between nesting and feeding grounds, which can be thousands of kilometres apart. The only time marine turtles leave the ocean is when the females come ashore to nest. The males spend all their time at sea and little is known about their habits. It is said that hatchlings take around 15 years to mature and the females usually come back to the same beach they were born into nest. "The way that an egg-burdened female finds her way to her nesting beach is still a mystery. Some scientists believe that marine turtles are sensitive to the earth's magnetic field and use it for navigation. It is a mystery how they use not only the same sandy beach but the very same stretch of beach they used in previous years for nesting". (CCD-GTZ En.Ed.Pub:) Refuge Status Marine turtles are a unique part of the natural heritage of Sri Lanka. Marine turtles and their eggs have been protected under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance. A comprehensive survey of the entire coastline of Sri Lanka for marine turtle rookeries is a priority need. Coastal areas where nesting turtles have been observed are Induruwa, Kosgoda, Akurella, Mawella, Rekawa, Kahandamodara, Ussangoda, Ambalantota, Bundala and Yala. In Kandakuliya nestings are yet to be recorded but thousands of live Ridley turtles are caught each year by local fishermen. The Departments of Wildlilfe Conservation and Coast Conservation along with the IUCN are coordinating with the Turtle Conservation Project to upgrade the Rekawa beach to Refuge Status for turtles. This move will serve to strengthen the existing marine eco-systems of sand dunes and mangroves as well as ensure the nesting rights of turtles. In conjunction with the above it is imperative to ensure that our coastline is not fettered by boundaries demarcated for private and commercial use to ensure the protection of all our marine eco-systems and aquatic fauna and flora. |
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Behind
were also tall beach vegetation like Pandanus erecting a barrier between
the land and the wide shore. It was a starlit night and up above the skies
was the `milky way' with an occasional falling star which brought to my
mind that famous song "catch a falling star and put it in your pocket
- save it for a rainy day".
