“SAVE OUR TURLES” CAMPAIGN

KOTA KINBALU, SABAH: “Save Our Turtles” campaign by Sabah Parks was a success which was held at the Main Atrium ofSuria Sabah on the 3rd – 5th December 2011 recently. Officiated by Datuk Elron Alfred Angin, the Assistant Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment, this was the second time Sabah Parks has organized the campaign with the first one held at Lahad Datu in 2008.

In his speech, Datuk Elron stated that Sabah is fortunate because it is endowed with rich natural resources and Sabahans should feel proud to have a wealth of natural resources, which is a priceless state asset. He said, “If we observe, we can say we are rich with treasures from mountain top to the ocean deep, diversity of flora and fauna of Sabah, whether found in land or in the ocean truly a unique world-class. That’s the reason why Kinabalu Park was recognized as a World Heritage site in year 2000.”

Amongst the unique marine flora and fauna which are the sea turtles. Turtles are an ancient animal that still exists to this day. It can swim in the ocean for thousands of kilometers, across continents and back to nest in a place where it was hatched, which is a truly amazing phenomenon. In Sabah, a major turtle-landing site is located at the Turtle Islands, Sandakan where turtle landings take placed nearly every night, he added.

Datuk Elron also said in his speech that the Ministry has been given a great responsibility to protect and conserve the areas identified as being unique and has been marked as protected areas, including for the turtles. Through the agencies under the ministry, particularly Sabah parks, and Wildlife Department and the Department of Environmental protection, they can play an important role to ensure the conservation of this state are protected, managed and preserved properly

According to Sabah Parks, during peak seasons, the number of turtle landings on the islands can reach up to 30-50 in one night. Turtle landings have been monitored since being since 1979 to 2010, about 21 years, and a total of 218, 305 turtle nests have been recorded and incubated in hatchery sites at the park.  Since the establishment of the Turtle Islands Park in Sandakan in 1977, various efforts have been undertaken to ensure the conservation of the sea turtle, which includes the construction of the first hatchery in 1966.  This also resulted in a total of 13.7 million hatchlings released back into the sea.

In addition, the turtle tagging program, which started in the 1970s, is one of the earliest tagging program in Malaysia. Up to 2010, a total of 54,904 turtles have already installed with marker (Inconel and Monel tags) and the Turtle Island Parks was among the first to run the program.

The sea turtle is one of the most protected species in the waters of Sabah and this is reflected by the Park Enactment 1984. With the establishments of marine parks around Sabah, this undoubtedly shows how the government of Sabah is serious on turtle’s conservations.

Among the activities held during the event were Kids’ Coloring and Drawing Contest, Lucky Draws and Quizes.

By Telcadora James, Borneo Geographic Contributor