Costa Rica proposes to downgrade Las Baulas National Park, threatening leatherback sea turtles

"This new law introduced by President Arias will be the death of the Costa Rican National Park System and the protection it provides to your environmental national treasures. The world has looked-up to Costa Rica as an example of how to shape an ecotouristic economy; yet this action by the Arias administration will open Pandora’s box to the elimination and attacks on all the other national parks," marine biologist Frank Paladino of Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne stated in a letter.

Leatherback sea turtle laying eggs on a beach in Suriname. Photo by Tiffany Roufs.

The law if passed would reduce protected area along the beaches where leatherbacks nest from 120 meters to 50. It would further allow a wide-variety of development, including condominiums and tourist facilities. Conservationists say that such developments would bring a flood of people, vehicles, and domestic animals that will harm the leatherback habitat.

"[The Leatherback sea turtle] Pacific population is in great trouble due mainly to beach disturbance. They have declined by about 98 percent since the early 1980s. Former large nesting populations in Mexico are a tiny fraction of earlier numbers. In the west Pacific, the leatherback turtle’s largest population has apparently gone extinct in the last few years," explains President and co-founder of the Blue Ocean Institute, Carl Safina. "These creatures, and the world, need Costa Rica to do what it can to protect the remaining Pacific leatherbacks and promote their recovery. And so little is required. All that is needed is darkness on the beach at night and protection of nests. The beach at Las Baulas Park that is currently without houses should remain so, and the Park should be reaffirmed by Costa Rica’s Congress."

On hatching sea turtles head toward the lightest area on the horizon, which in a natural environment is the ocean. Electric lights often lead turtle hatchlings astray, sometimes causing heavy mortality among baby sea turtles.

The government has stated that its reasoning for downgrading the park is that it is too expensive to purchase the land set aside for the park. Yet conservationists attest that the government estimates for purchasing park land are grossly inflated and that the Costa Rican government has several means at its disposal to acquire the land.

Leatherback sea turtle returning to the ocean after laying eggs on a beach in Suriname. Photo by Tiffany Roufs.

"I think the important thing here is that it would be very easy to acquire the land within Las Baulas park if the government had a one dollar a night tax on hotel rooms and one dollar a day tax on rental cars. That would raise at least 10 million a year, a conservative estimate, and a 30-year bond could be done to raise 300 million that could be used to reimburse all landowners in all parks and have an endowment for the parks into the future. What is missing is the political will in the government," offered Jim Spotila, president of Leatherback Trust.

In addition, conservationists say that the President's proposal to downgrade the park violates numerous agreements it has signed including Peace with Nature; the International Sea Turtle Convention; the Convention on Biological Diversity Biological; as well as the Convention for the Protection of Flora, Fauna and Natural Scenic Beauty of the Americas.

Taken from:
Mongabay

World’s rarest tortoises stolen

Four of the world’s rarest tortoises have been stolen from a captive breeding program in Madagascar. The critically endangered animals were part of a group of 44 due for release by the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and were being held in pre-release enclosures at a secret location.

The Trust fears the stolen ploughshare tortoises are destined for Europe, USA or Asia where collectors will pay thousands of dollars for individuals due to the rarity of the species. It is estimated that only 500 adults remain in the wild and they are only found in Baly Bay national park, where the tortoises were taken from. After extensive investigations in the area arrests have been made but the tortoises are yet to be recovered.

"As with many other species around the world, greed is proving to be the major threat facing the ploughshare tortoise. The selfish desires of foreign collectors could in the end send this species to extinction” says Andrew Terry, Durrell's Conservation Manager.

Traffickers pay poor local people to find the animals but the real problem lies with private collectors and buyers who continue to make the illegal trade of such rare species a lucrative business. Malagasy and foreign authorities have made attempts to put a stop to the smuggling, but recent political unrest and consequent lack of law enforcement has provided opportunities for traffickers.

“Durrell, the government of Madagascar and our partners are doing what we can to protect and restore the ploughshare, but if the international demand remains this high we will end up fighting a losing battle” Terry continues. “We have to work with local authorities to increase enforcement of the law within Madagascar, but equally we need to increase pressure on the collectors in Europe and Asia."


Taken from:

mongabay.com

Will the illegal trade of the critically endangered Philippine forest turtle lead to its extinction?

Endangered Species International (ESI) conducted ongoing monitoring at markets known to sell pets and wild animals in Manila, Philippines, to monitor the status of the trade of one of the most endangered turtle in the world: the Philippine forest turtle [Siebenrockiella (Panayenemys) leytensis]. The critically endangered Philippine forest turtle is endemic to the Philippines, occurring only on one major island, Palawan, and its small satellite island, Dumaran.

During many visits, ESI staff encountered between two and ten Philippine forest turtle for sale at each market totalizing 171 animals over the 4-year period. The turtles were not sold openly as they were prior to 2005; instead, they were kept hidden in the back of stores and brought to potential buyers only when it was felt that there were no risks involved. “We continuously observed S. leytensis in all major pet markets in Manila, demonstrating that the domestic illegal trade remains rampant and has not decreased over the years, that brings this unique species closer to extinction” said Pierre Fidenci, head of Endangered Species International.



In April 2009, the species was sold for between 50 and 75 USD per turtle, but could be negotiated down to 30 USD for smaller individuals. Turtles could be ordered within one or two weeks but that large-sized turtles were difficult to obtain. Most of the turtles sold for the domestic pet trade were sub-adults and young adults. It was rather uncommon to find large individuals (greater than 30 cm in carapace length) for sale.

Overall, illegal collecting of the Philippine forest turtle is the most prominent factor contributing to the sharp decline of the species. Despite international and national laws designed to prevent exploitation of the critically endangered Philippine forest turtle, this species has been sold illegally for domestic and international trade for almost eight years now. Trade is still rampant and the species is being sold in the Philippines, North America, Europe, and Japan.

The ongoing level of trade highlights the failure of past and current activities to stop or reduce illegal trade. Targeting known illegal traders in Palawan should be a priority, but no legal actions have yet been undertaken by local authorities or other concerned organizations. “We have been watching the numbers going down and now it is time for real actions to stop the illegal trade of the Philippine forest turtle” said Pierre Fidenci.



Taken from Andreas Rytz, Endangered Species International
May 04, 2009