Jan
7
Written by:
frank zindel
07.01.2008
By Prodita Sabarini
Nusa Dua, Indonesia: Hundreds of tiny week-old sea turtle hatchlings swam in the wild for the first time as delegates of the ongoing climate conference released them Thursday morning at Nusa Dua beach.
The 240 hatchlings paddled their small but strong fins to swim through the light waves while barefooted delegates watched under the warm morning sun in the beach front of Melia Resort and Hotel.
Amidst the ongoing high level negotiations on climate change, non-governmental organization Conservation International and the Indonesian government released the offspring of the endangered species aiming to conserve the sea turtles and to spread awareness on the threat of climate change.
“Climate change has a direct impact on turtles in Indonesia by an increase in temperature and the destruction of turtles’ habitat,” Conservation International Marine Program Director for Conservation International, Ketut Sarjana Putra said.
The increase in temperature affects the sex ratio of turtles in the wild.
“Incubation of turtle eggs in warm temperature will produce more females. This will affect the entire reproduction cycle of turtles,” he said.
Rising sea levels, causing beaches to be inundated with sea water, as well as beach erosion, also threatens the natural nesting grounds of the turtles, he added.
According to The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, temperatures are likely to rise by between 1.1 and 6.4 degrees Celsius and sea levels by between 18 cm and 59 cm this century.
Many of Indonesia’s 17,000 islands, with beaches that are breeding habitat for sea turtles, may be swallowed up by the sea if world leaders fail to find a way to halt rising sea levels at the current climate change conference.
“There have to be adaptation programs to help this species survive,” he said.
Ketut said that around 30 percent of the released hatchlings would survive in the wild. The turtles were bred in hatcheries in Bali and East Java.
There are 134 natural grounds of green sea turtles in Indonesia, and only around 30,000 of productive nesting female sea turtle.
“They are extremely endangered,” Ketut said.
Beside the threats of climate change to habitat, sea turtle are also threatened by trapping, illegal trade and their unsustainable exploitation.
Indonesia is home to six out of seven of the world's turtle species and provides important nesting and foraging grounds, as well as important migration routes at the cross roads of the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
Winner of 2007 Miss Earth Pageant, Canadian Jessica Trisko, also took part in releasing the hatchlings.
The Miss Earth pageant is an annual female event geared to promote environmental awareness and is currently one of the top three international beauty pageants in the world, after Miss Universe and Miss World.
She squatted and with awe-filled eyes she released a green sea turtle to the sea. She named the hatchling that she released Pedro.
“It’s important to take part in this kind of initiative,” she said.
“This could raise awareness of the people. By seeing this, happening in Bali, people in other communities will be inspired to do the same with other endangered species in their area.”
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