The Regional Organization for the Conservation of the Environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (PERSGA) Regional Action Plan for the Conservation of Marine Turtles and their Habitats in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden DRAFT 12-06-2004 June 2004 PERSGA is an intergovernmental authority dedicated to the conservation of the coastal and marine environments in the region. The Regional Convention for the Conservation of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Environment (Jeddah Convention) 1982 provides the legal foundation for PERSGA. The Secretariat of the Organization was formally established in Jeddah following the Cairo Declaration of September 1995. The PERSGA member states are Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. PERSGA, P.O. Box 53662, Jeddah 21583, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Tel.: +966-2-657-3224. Fax: +966-2-652-1901. Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.persga.org The preparation of this document was carried out through the Habitat and Biodiversity Conservation Component of the Strategic Action Programme for the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, a Global Environment Facility (GEF) project executed by PERSGA and implemented by the GEF partners - the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Bank. Supplementary funding was provided by the Islamic Development Bank. © 2004 PERSGA All rights reserved. The text of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for educational or non-profit purposes without the permission of the copyright holders provided that acknowledgement of the source is given. PERSGA would appreciate receiving a copy of any publication that uses this material as a source. This publication may not be copied, or distributed electronically, for resale or other commercial purposes without prior permission, in writing, from PERSGA. This publication may be cited as: PERSGA/GEF. 2004. Regional Action Plan for the Conservation of Marine Turtles and their Habitats in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. PERSGA, Jeddah. Table of Contents Acknowledgements................................................................................................................... iv Preface ....................................................................................................................................... v Executive Summary.................................................................................................................. vi Scope of the Plan ..................................................................................................................... vii Using this Action Plan............................................................................................................. vii 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1 2. Reducing Direct and Indirect Causes of Marine Turtle Mortality......................................... 9 3. Protecting and Conserving Marine Turtle Habitats............................................................. 12 4. Research and Monitoring..................................................................................................... 14 5. Community Participation, Public Awareness, Information and Education......................... 17 6. Building Capacity for Conservation, Research and Management....................................... 21 7. Integrated Management for Marine Turtles......................................................................... 22 8. Funding for Marine Turtle Conservation............................................................................. 25 9. References ........................................................................................................................... 26 Additional Reading.................................................................................................................. 29 10. Appendices ........................................................................................................................ 33 Appendix I: Generalised Life Cycle of Marine Turtles................................................................................. 34 Appendix II: Potential and Existing Threats to Marine Turtles..................................................................... 35 Appendix III: Threats and Conservation Initiatives Matrix for the RSGA Region ....................................... 37 Appendix IV: Accession of PERSGA States to Relevant International Legal Instruments Relevant to Turtle Conservation....................................................................................................................................... 38 Appendix V: Components of a Regional Programme to Identify and Monitor Marine Turtle Populations and their Migrations ...................................................................................................................................... 39 Appendix VI: The IOSEA MoU, & the Conservation and Management Plan .............................................. 40 Appendix VII: Priority Actions for the Conservation of Marine Turtles in the Western Indian Ocean ........ 54 Appendix VIII: Priority Actions for the Conservation of Marine Turtles in the Northern Indian Ocean...... 55 i LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Figure 1: Extent of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden region, and major geographical locations.................................................................................................................. 1 Figure 2: Known migrations of green turtles in the Indian Ocean region, as an example of the distances travelled and international borders crossed by migrating turtles...................................................................................................... 4 Figure 3: In a simple hypothetical case, while eggs are laid and allowed to hatch, turtles are produced. ............................................................................................... 4 Figure 4: Locations of key sites for marine turtles in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden ........... 7 Table 1: Key nesting and foraging sites and population statistics for the RSGA region...................................................................................................................... 6 Table 2: Overlap (shaded regions) between regional network of MPAs and key marine turtle habitats ............................................................................................. 8 ii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations CBD Convention on Biological Diversity CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora CMS Convention on Migratory Species FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations GEF Global Environment Facility GIS Global Information System HBC Habitats and Biodiversity Component IDB Islamic Development Bank IOC Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission IOSEA Indian Ocean–Southeast Asian IUCN The World Conservation Union MARPOL International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships MoU Memorandum of Understanding MPA Marine Protected Area MTSG Marine Turtle Specialist Group NCWCD National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development NIO Northern Indian Ocean NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration PERSGA Regional Organization for the Conservation of the Environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden RAP Regional Action Plan ROPME Regional Organization for the Protection of the Marine Environment RSGA Red Sea and Gulf of Aden SAP Strategic Action Programme for the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden SSC Species Survival Commission SSM Standard Survey Method TED Turtle Excluder Device TIHPA Turtle Islands Heritage Protected Area UNCED United Nations Conference on Environment and Development UNCLOS United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNEP United Nations Environment Programme UNEP-ROWA UNEP - Regional Office for Western Asia UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization WHC World Heritage Convention WWF World-Wide Fund for Nature iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The first and revised drafts of this document were prepared by Dr. Nicolas J. Pilcher, Marine Research Foundation, Malaysia, under contract to PERSGA. Comments and input were provided by the authors of individual country reports, and the participants at the ‘PERSGA Regional Action Plan for Marine Turtles Workshop’ held in Jeddah from 29-30 September, 2003. Participants included: Mr. Houssein Rirache Robleh (Djibouti), Dr. Mohammad Khalil Al-Zibdeh (Jordan), Dr. Mahmoud H. Hanafy (Egypt), Dr. Ahmed Al-Mansi, Mr. Sameer F. Badawi, and Mr. Anas Z. Sambas (Saudi Arabia), Dr. Mohammed Al-Amin Hamza (Sudan), Mr. Mohammed Mahmoud Mohammed (N.E. Somalia), Mr. Ahmed Abdullah Yassen (NW Somalia), Mr. Yasser A. Al- Ghopir (Yemen), Prof. Saiyed Al-Khouli, and Prof. Mahmoud K. El-Sayed (PERSGA). Many of the actions specified in this Regional Action Plan overlap with proposals outlined in the MTSG Northern and Western Indian Ocean Strategies for the Conservation of Marine Turtles, and with programmes and activities listed in the Conservation and Management Plan of the IOSEA MoU, which often appear verbatim in this report as they state clearly the actions needed for effective conservation. In addition, material is drawn from the IUCN Technical Publication No. IV on Research and Conservation Methods for Marine Turtles.