Conserving the green turtle

Just half a palm in size, pushing with its tiny flippers, a newly hatched green turtle labours towards the mighty roar of the Indian Ocean. Inching forward, the hatchling - one of seven species of marine turtles - is instinctively drawn to the sea, only to be violently washed back to shore by an advancing wave. Undeterred, it resumes its strenuous journey, oblivious to the dangers ahead. Finally, the fragile creature, having been tossed ashore scores of time, is consumed by a receding wave. Only a tiny percentage of turtle hatchlings survive into adulthood. Those that do survive grow to weigh as much as 135 kg with a life span of up to a century. All seven species have been listed as endangered, threatened or vulnerable by the US Endangered Species Act, the International Union of Conservation Nature's Red List, and international treaties. Born into a country not known for its conservation work, the baby turtle hatched in a poorly constructed enclosure - one of three on Sandspit beach near the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi. The hatchery is operated by the Sindh provincial wildlife department in order to conserve the two species found in Pakistan. The green turtle is now an endangered species, and the population has been eliminated in some countries, although it is still reasonable in other areas. The turtles have been overexploited for their meat, hides and eggs, and the predictability of their nesting habits has made them easy victims. Exploitation is now strictly controlled, and imports are banned in many countries. "The sea calls them and they all crawl toward it," Lal Muhammad Lalu, the caretaker of the enclosures, where the eggs are protected from dogs, poachers and an ignorant public, told IRIN. "They hardly survive, though, they are so tiny and the sea is so big," added Lalu, one of six helpers of the 'Turtle Lady of Karachi', who is in charge of the conservation project. Better known as Fehmida Asrar Ghauri, she earned her title for her turtle conservation work over 22 years. Now she is planning to save those hatchlings from being killed by predators in the sea by keeping the young turtles in captivity for up to two years. Keeping them at the project should give them a much higher survival rate. Ghauri also wants to promote conservation awareness among tourists. She told IRIN she was planning to build a proper enclosure along with a marine laboratory where, apart from research, beach-lovers and tourists could watch the ancient creatures, which have existed since the time of the dinosaurs, but are now facing extinction. "Once we have the laboratory and a place to keep these babies, we will be increasing their chances of survival dramatically," Ghauri said, adding that the Sindh government had allocated the required funds, but acquiring suitable land on the beach was still a problem. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), which initially helped to get the project of the ground in 1979, beaches where turtles traditionally nest are being rapidly destroyed by tourist development. More rubbish at sea is another threat. Sea turtles mistake plastic bags for jellyfish - a favourite food - and often choke to death. Commercial fishing constitutes the greatest threat to sea turtles worldwide. Ghauri has been going to schools, educating children about the turtles, selling turtle tee-shirts, pins and stamps. "Raising the awareness of the people is a key issue. Nobody realises how fragile these gentle things are and why we need to preserve and protect them." Her project is part of an international effort to protect the green turtles. Many of those tagged in Pakistan have washed up on the shores of Iran and India. "I have tagged more than 5,000 and out of those more than 550 have returned to the beach," she added. Lalu and his colleagues wait silently in the middle of the night as adult female green turtles labour their way up the shore. "Any noise will detract them. The turtle will not lay eggs, but return to the sea," Lalu warned. "Once she has dug about three feet into the sand, then she will not move even if she notices someone is watching." A female lays about 100 eggs, each weighing some 55 grammes. "Once she starts laying eggs, she is so tired that she has no strength to move, even when distracted," Ghauri explained. After the mother returns to the sea, Lalu and his fellow workers dig out the site, bring the eggs to the enclosures and rebury them to hatch. Hopefully, if Ghauri's scheme takes off, the vulnerable babies will have a better chance of reaching maturity.