After the outstanding work of participants during the 8th Conference for the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation and Management of Marine Turtles and their Habitats of the Indian Ocean and South-East Asia (IOSEA MOS 8) which was held in Đà Nẵng, the member countries agreed with Vietnam’s proposal of giving Côn Đảo National Park the membership of the IOSEA Marine Turtle Site Network (IOSEA)
Vietnam has been making a great effort to conserve the biodiversity and marine turtles in the last time. The Conference affirmed Vietnam’s complete commitment in protecting the threatened and endangered marine species, fighting against IUU fishing and aiming to the sustainable marine exploitation.
The conservation of marine turtle has been carried out in Côn Đảo since 1994. The Côn Đảo National Park was established in 1993 with 14 islands and surroundings which are in the southeast ocean of the country. The park is 19,990.7 hectares and has potential in national and global biodiversity which is also the strength of Côn Đảo to develop upon the Government’s direction and conception.
All kinds of marine turtle are put into the Vietnam’s red list of threatened species and considered the endangered species by IUCN. Vietnam has acknowledged that marine turtle conservation could bring huge benefits to the culture, social economic development and help the country fulfill their commitments. The biggest number ofgreen turtles Chelonia mydas population is recorded to arrive at the islands in Côn Đảo to nest every year. According to statistics of the Côn Đảo National Park Management Board, there are around 500 broodstocks coming there to nest each year and other smaller green turtles go for feed. The Côn Đảo National Park has been a national record holder for the national park releasing the most baby turtles to the ocean of Vietnam since 31 January 2009.
Since 1994, Côn Đảo has been the first place achieving success in systematizing the marine turtle conservation program and becoming the research center of biological characteristics and effective practices to conserve marine turtles as well as a place to exchange the conservation methods. The Côn Đảo National Park continues to carry out the project of egg and baby turtle removal and rescue with an aim to recover the turtle population in Côn Đảo over the effect of rising temperature, flood tide and sea level rise due to climate change within 2017-2020. Vietnam will boost its cooperation with domestic and international organizations to exchange information of marine turtle conservation. The country will call for the international organizations for their further cooperation, financial and technical support, and experience sharing to help with marine turtle conservation in the Côn Đảo National Park.
VFM
