ProFauna's Annual Reflection on Turtle Trade in Indonesia:

A New Modus In Smuggling Turtles

Contents

• ProFauna's Annual Reflection on Turtle Trade in Indonesia A New Modus In Smuggling Turtles
• Turtle Smuggling into Bali
• Trade of merchandise sourced from Hawksbill turtle shells
• Turtle Egg Trade in Sukabumi, West Java
• For further information, please contact

 

Year 2006 was "the Year of Turtles" proclaimed by IOSEA (Indian Ocean and South East Asia) Secretariat and signed in agreement by the Indonesian government. Indonesia with its shoreline and vast seas possess 6 out of 7 of the world's turtles speces. All turtle and parts of turtles are protected under statutory law in Indonesia. According to Act. No. 5/ 1990 on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Conservation, conduct of protected wildlife trade, including turtles, are subject to a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison and a fine up to Rp100 million.

Although regulated by law, turtle and parts of turtle trade is still frequently taking place in many places around the country. The turtles are traded in the form of meat, eggs, shell, and souvenirs made from parts of the turtle's body.

Since 1999 ProFauna Indonesia has worked on a campaign for turtle protection and a campaign against all manifestations of turtle trade. The following are ProFauna's records on turtle trade in Indonesia during the year 2006.

Turtle Smuggling into Bali

According to ProFauna records, roughly 1000 turtles are slaughtered each year to create stuffed turtles and sold along the shores of the Southern Java beaches. In addition, 60 turtles are accidentally caught in random fishermen's nets every year. Those accidentally caught turtles are then slaughtered and consumed for their meat.

Turtle trade in the shores of the Southern Java Beaches occurs particularly at the following locations: Teluk Penyu Beach, Cilacap, Central Java; Puger Banyuwangi Beach; pangandaran Beach, West Java; Pelabuhan Ratu Beach, West Java; and Pangumbahan Beach, Sukabumi, West Java.

Current progress to curb turtle trade can be seen through the fact that the number of turtle material-derived merchandise have decreased to as low as 90% following ProFauna's publication of the organization's investigation report on turtle trade in Cilacap in 2005. Now ‘turtle stock' that had once been in Cilacap has been moved to Pangandaran Beach in West Java.

The trade of turtles and its parts in the Southern Java beaches is now hard to find due to the impacts of the tsunami several months ago which hit the shores of Southern Java quite hard.

Trade of merchandise sourced from Hawksbill turtle shells

Positive developments have taken place in Kota Gede, Yogyakarta. Kota Gede, once renowned as the center for souvenirs made from Hawksbill turtle shells (Eretmochelys imbricata), by the end of 2006 has managed to decrease the trade by 90%. After receiving reports from ProFauna, officials from the Conservancy of Natural Resource Council (BKSDA_Yogyakarta) carried out socialization and law enforcement efforts at Kota Gede. The results was a rapid decline in sales for merchandise of Hawksbill turtle shells, the area nearly proclaimed to be free of illegal products.

It is a shame that the positive results achieved in Kota Gede was not followed by the same developments of Hawksbill turtle souvenir trade in Malioboro Road, Yogyakarta. Although the number has declined, trade of souvenirs made from Hawksbill turtle shells still takes place in several outlets along Malioboro Road. At the end of 2006, ProFauna recorded that there were 500 souvenirs made from Hawksbill turtle shells.

Turtle Egg Trade in Sukabumi, West Java

Although turtle egg trade is regulated and protected nationally, it is still legalized by a few regional governments, such as what is happening in Pangumbahan Beach, Sukabumi, West Java. Previously in 2001, the Sukabumi local government released Regional Law (Perda) No. 2/ 2001 regulating turtle egg trade conducted by private businesses.

Luckily, the law was cancelled by Domestic Affairs Minister the following year through Domestic Affairs Minister Decree no. 9/ 2005 on Cancellation of Perda No. 2 year 2001. Agreement on the legislation of the decree was achieved due to the hardwork done by the Animal Advocacy Institute (LASA) supported by ProFauna Indonesia.

At the moment, Sukabumi police is handling a law case regarding turtle egg trade. Although proceeding very slowly, ProFauna is hoping that this case will be handed over to court and more law will be enforced strictly in the hope that turtle egg trade will not occur again in Sukabumi.

According to ProFauna's turtle campaign coordinator, I Wayan Wiradnyana, "All species of turtles are protected by Indonesian law, so there should not be any excuses to take commercial advantage of these creatures; law enforcers shuld be more strict in making sure there is safe haven and protection for the turtles".

Wayan also mentioned that the goals of the turtle conservation program in Indonesia will only be achieved if we are able to include local community participation, and if there exists strict law enforcement to those who are found guilty trading turtles illegally. Heavy sanctions to those who ignore the law and appreciating the positive efforts made by those who have tried to conserve will help the 6 turtle species in Indonesia stay alive.

For further information, please contact:

Wita Wahyu Widyayandani, ProFauna Bali Representative
HP. 08179706066
email: bali@profauna.net