The new Wildlife Protection Bill 2010 had come into effect in December 2010, and under the new bill, 17 out of the 18 species of freshwater turtles and tortoises in Malaysia are classified as “Protected” whereas the river terrapin, Batagur affinis, is classified as “Totally Protected.”
In line with the new legislation, Turtle Conservation Centre (TCC) submitted a proposal to The State Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) to protect the major terrapin nesting banks along the Kemaman and Setiu Rivers. The State Perhilitan supported our proposal, and the State Perhilitan Director had agreed to erect notice boards on the proposed nesting sites.
A total of six notice boards have been installed on the major nesting banks along the two rivers, i.e. three in the Setiu River, and three in the Kemaman River. The notice boards were installed in “strategic” locations to ensure that they are visible to the local villagers and egg collectors.
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- The Notice Board
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- Installing the notice board on Tebing Pasir Pak Lah Teh
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- Installing the notice board at Kg. Banggol
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- Installing the notice board on Tebing Pasir Penarik
We are aware that the local villagers will not be deterred by the notice boards installed by the Perhilitan officers, and as such, dialogue sessions between Perhilitan and the local folks in the villages will be held at the end of the year, before the 2012 nesting season begins. These dialogue sessions will serve to inform the local folks of the new legislation and their corresponding penalties.
There is a similar problem in the Cayman Islands with people ignoring posted signage and illegally hunting turtles. There’s a place called the cayman turtle farm which has made strong efforts to breed green turtles and return them to the wild, however they are also a zoo so I am a bit suspect of what goes on behind the scenes
The notice boards serve to “inform and warn” the local villagers of the penalties associated with having in possession a critically-endangered and totally protected species.
There is still a lot to do when it comes to enforcing the new legislation, and for this, we would have to work together with the government agencies.