Thursday, June 27, 2013

New link to our petition to save Sangalaki's turtles

Hi all,

We've moved our petition to Change.org.  Please sign the petition asking the local government to let us continue our protection and data collection efforts on behalf of the green sea turtle population of Sangalaki Island.  Thank you so much.

Save Sangalaki's Turtles

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Thousands of sea turtle eggs confiscated in East Borneo

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


Tuesday, June 11, 2013

just a few more days...

until the official start of the Turtle Foundation project season 2013 on Boavista!!! The TF headquarters resemble a beehive these days with people busily getting the equipment ready for the beach camps, receiving arriving staff and volunteers, finalizing training material and data collection tools. By the 15th of June we want to have all three project sites Boa Esperanca, Lacacao and Fundo das Figueiras to be up and running and ready for hopefully many turtles.
An extra portion of motivation we gained from attending the annual meeting of the national Turtle Conservation Network TAOLA, were we could meet our colleagues from other NGOs and exchange data, ideas and strategies for a successful season. Well then, let the turtles come...


TAOLA meeting in Rui Vaz, Santiago, Cabo Verde

Sunday, June 9, 2013

A wonderful book and a great way to support Turtle Foundation's protection projects

 

 Stephanie Lisa Tara, author of I'll Follow the Moon (Mom's Choice Award Honoree and Chocolate Lily Award Winner) has a new book out.

 

Stephanie
Lisa Tara's Turtle Book is the long-awaited twin to her international bestseller fable I'll Follow the Moon! This brand new sequel features real turtles in real habitats. Breathtaking photography, fun facts, mini turtle movie flip-book!  It is an enchanting, engaging book that delights as well as educates young people about sea turtle species.  Stephanie will donate a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the book to Turtle Foundation.  We are proud and honored to recommend her book.  But don't take our word for it.  Check it out on Amazon and read the glowing recommendations, then buy the book, fall in love with sea turtles, and help support sea turtle conservation.

Follow this link to:  Stephanie Lisa Tara's Turtle Book

Friday, June 7, 2013

Thousands of Turtle Eggs Confiscated in East Borneo



Read more in a recent article of ProFauna, one of the largest Indonesian nature conservation organisations:

Turtle eggs are sold at high prizes in Samarinda, the provincial capital of East Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia. As indicated in the article and known to us from other sources, these eggs at least partly come from the Berau district in East Borneo, where the local government ceased our successful turtle protection programme on the Island of Sangalaki.

Confiscation of smuggled turtle eggs and prosecution of the perpetrators are important steps to demonstrate that turtle egg trading is illegal and most detrimental for the survival of the sea turtles. However, it is of paramount importance to stop turtle egg trade already where it begins, and this is egg poaching on the nesting beaches!

Please help us to convince the Indonesian government and nature agencies to reinstate effective protection of the sea turtles and their nests on the Island of Sangalaki. We just reached 500 signatures for our petition. Let's reach 10.000!

Please sign our petition, spread the word, tell your friends, post our petition in Facebook, Twitter etc.!


Thank you very much for participating!

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Please take a moment to sign these petitions - it does make a difference!!!

It only takes a moment, and it REALLY DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE when a government agency or official is inundated with emails from petitions that have been signed.  It tells them that people care, that they are willing to make an effort to make their views known to the officials in charge. 

So PLEASE, take a moment to sign these two petitions.

This one is to urge the local government to let us continue our turtle nest protection and data collection program on Sangalaki Island, which was recently terminated with no reason given after 12 years, resulting in the eggs being dug up and sold again. 
Petition to save the sea turtles of Sangalaki

This one is to demand protection for the sea turtle conservation rangers in Costa Rica, after the brutal murder of 26-year old Jairo Moro Sandoval, who was killed while patrolling the beaches to protect the sea turtles.
Petition to protect sea turtle conservation rangers

Thank you so much!