Dear friends, friends of the sea turtles, and supporters of Turtle Foundation:
According to recent information from the Indonesian nature conservation organization ProFauna, thousands of smuggled sea turtle eggs have been confiscated in East Borneo. Turtle eggs fetch high prices on the markets of Samarinda, the provincial capital of East Kalimantan on Borneo. At least some of the eggs sold in Samarinda are collected from poorly protected or unprotected islands of our project area in the Berau district. Alas, Sangalaki is now among these islands, since the local government indiscriminately terminated our protection program there.
Police actions against egg smugglers are certainly necessary and helpful, however, the eggs by this time are already dead, and only by stopping the poaching will the turtles be protected and conserved. Only complete protection of the nesting beaches, as is necessary on Sangalaki, will stop the further decline of the endangered sea turtles.
We have now reached over 1,500 signatures for our petition to save the sea turtles of Sangalaki! Many thanks to all signers!
We now want to show to the responsible authorities that a large international public closely watches what happens on Sangalaki, and demands comprehensive protection measures for its sea turtles. Please help us to reach 10,000 signatures!
What can you do?
• Please sign our petition if you have not already done so.
• Please link to our petition in your social networks (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), preferably with a short personal comment. Post the link also to your friends and to the groups you are associated with.
• Ask your friends and acquaintances not only to sign the petition but also to disseminate it in their networks.
Just copy this link in your messages or on your pinboard:
https://www.change.org/petitions/save-the-sea-turtles-of-sangalaki
Thank you so much for your help!
With best regards,
Hiltrud Cordes
Project Manager