India joins the IOSEA Marine Turtle MoU

20 February, 2007

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India joins the IOSEA Marine Turtle MoU

(press release)

For details see: http://www.ioseaturtles.org/feature_detail.php?id=190

On 20 February 2007, the recently installed Indian Ambassador to Thailand, H.E. Ms. Vijaya Latha Reddy, visited the offices of the United Nations Environment Programme in Bangkok to sign the IOSEA Marine Turtle MoU.

This much-anticipated signature, the third in as many months, brings to 27 the number of Signatory States to the MoU.

The signature coincides with the widely-reported mass nesting of Olive Ridley turtles on the shores of Orissa. As visitors to this website and readers of the regular 'headlines' will attest, there are few places in the whole of the IOSEA region that evoke such strong opinions of how best to manage marine turtle populations whilst taking into account various social and developmental considerations.

The challenge for India will be to reconcile and balance these competing interests: the development of coastal infrastructure, offshore mineral exploitation and industrial fishing; social concerns related to the traditional way of life of fisherfolk; and the need to ensure

the long-term viability of marine turtle populations whose nesting behaviour is almost unparalleled anywhere on the planet.

India has much to contribute to the Memorandum of Understanding, in terms of its wealth of knowledge and expertise in sea turtle conservation. At the same time, its domestic legislation will be complemented and underpinned by the detailed framework provided by the MoU's Conservation and Management Plan. For all Signatory States, including India, the CMP serves as a yardstick against which to measure real progress in their collective efforts to conserve these remarkable creatures of the sea.