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Harfiandri Damanhuri: Protecting Padang's sea turtles
Harfiandri Damanhuri
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Harfiandri Damanhuri. Courtesy of Sea Turtle Information Center of Indonesia
After rescuing sea turtles for 24 years, Harfiandri 'Andri' Damanhuri finally earned recognition from the local government, which banned the long-standing practice of turtle egg trade on the beaches in Padang, West Sumatra, in early January.
'I think Padang Beach has been the largest and most overt place for turtle egg sales in Indonesia, it is even seemingly legalized by the city tourism office,' Harfiandri told The Jakarta Post on the beach.
'When I was studying fisheries at Bung Hatta University in Padang in 1990, our lecturer took us to the beach for field practice,' the 45-year-old recalls about when he first became aware of the practice, which he estimates started in the 1940s. 'It turned out that the eggs of endangered and protected sea turtles were freely sold along with salted [duck] eggs.'
His interest grew as his college allowed the opportunity for skin diving to observe turtles underwater. Later he studied for a master's degree in aquatic resources management at Putra Malaysia University, researching the life of turtles.
'In Malaysia, turtle egg exploitation has been banned, and so has the global trade and exploitation since 1978. This prompted me to study turtles more profoundly so as to be able to disseminate information.'
Andri, who hails from from Sungai Penuh in Kerinci, Jambi, said that he continued with a a month-long turtle conservation training program in Malaysia in 2001.
Participants were taken to Redang, a tourist haven and the largest island in Malaysia's east, to observe turtle conservation management collaboration between the government, colleges and the public.
Worried about the situation closer to home, Andri regularly surveyed of traders and buyers of turtle eggs, particularly on Padang Beach. In 1980 there were 10 traders, 18 in 2000 and 26 in 2013, selling more than 40,000 eggs a month obtained from Bengkulu, North Sumatra, Riau and Derawan Islands in Kalimantan.
While turtles are endangered species according to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, trade in Padang continues.
Some believe turtle eggs are an aphrodisiac and the business has been a source of income for the community.
Meanwhile, the local tourism office touts turtle eggs, despite the ban, Andri alleged.
The tourism office's official guidebook for 2013 mentioned turtle eggs as one of the food specialties available in the Padang Beach tourist zone.
'I've asked the office personnel if the booklet for 2014 still contains turtle eggs and they say it does, which is to be deplored,' said Andri.
'In 1999 with six of my students, I planned to survey Penyu Island in Pesisir Selatan regency, the main supplier of turtle eggs for Padang Beach, but the procedure was complicated,' said the lecturer of fisheries at Bung Hatta University.
Eventually, Andri got through, although he claims the island's caretaker warned against exposing activity on the island to the media.
Andri, currently finishing a doctorate in ecology at Padang's Andalas University, set up the Sea Turtle Information Center of Indonesia (Setia) with students and other lecturers in 2003.
Since then, they've released over 15,000 baby turtles.
'With the absence of valid data in West Sumatra on the species, distribution and exploitation of turtles, we conduct turtle research under Setia and convey its results through seminars and media interviews so that our findings can serve as data and information for decision makers,' Andri said.
He is also an expert consultant for government sea turtle conservation programs, such as the captive breeding and young turtle supply for conservation program on Kerabak Ketek Island, which earned the local regent an award from the maritime affairs and fisheries minister.
The hard work appears to be paying off. Andri said that his figures for turtle egg exploitation have dropped as the number of breeding centers increased.
Meanwhile, turtle egg sales on Padang Beach have started decreasing since the Natural Resources Conservation Center and the provincial and city offices for maritime and fishery affairs imposed a fines of Rp 100 million (US$8,169).
Consequently, only three to five traders were seen selling turtle eggs on the beach by the end of January. 'The government should demonstrate its stern attitude on the one hand, and help traders through programs for alternative sources of living on the other. Otherwise they will keep selling stealthily or moving to other locations,' he said.
Andri also spotlighted the weak interagency coordination that has made the Padang Tourism Office less supportive of the ban. In his opinion, this office should turn Padang Beach into a turtle conservation zone and involving the traders in young turtle release activities as a tourist attraction.
He hopes the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) with its programs in Bali and Kalimantan will also handle the western coast of Sumatra.
Its waters have a potential to host 15,000 turtles and only a potential egg-laying population of 2,000. 'It's a potential zone for the conservation of world turtles, let alone rare green turtles that have been found several times,' he concluded.
