 Yayasan Pulau Banyak started its activities in the region in 1994,
when Mahmud Bangkaru visited the area and motivated the local
community to start up conservation activities for sea turtles in
Pulau Bangkaru. With the first funding we were able to protect the
nesting beach from egg poaching and raise considerable awareness in
the area regarding environmental issues. The programme integrated
with a socio-economic programme plan and provided alternative income
for the communities through tourism. Unfortunately, with civil war
in the Aceh region, the programme had to be put to a halt and its
last activities stopped in 2001.Egg poaching and trading returned in Pulau Banyak and community
members reported that 10.000 turtle eggs were being collected per
month for supplying markets based out of Sibolga Although all turtle
species are protected, there still exists trading in sea turtle
products throughout Indonesia. Yayasan Pulau Banyak has currently
undertaken an Environmental Education programme in the region to
raise awareness on the ecological role of sea turtles and the
importance to protect them.
 In 2006, Maggie Muurmans, a Dutch sea turtle expert, took an
interest in the nesting population of Pulau Banyak. Together with
Mahmud Bangkaru, they revived Yayasan Pulau Banyak and with backing
and financial support from Paneco and Casa Tortuga, they were able
to set up the sea turtle monitoring programme on Pulau Bangkaru once
again.
In November 2007, a patrol team, consisting of local community
members and Acehnese, were trained in the research work on the
beach. In February 2008, the first sea turtles in Sumatra were
tagged with metal tags to monitor the nesting population.
Yayasan Pulau Banyak works closely with the locals of Pulau Banyak
and supports community programmes such as environmental education
and teachers.
As the organization has been active in the region since 1997, there
is full support from the peoples of the coastal communities in the
area. Strong links have also been built between other NGO’s in the
area working towards capacity building and livelihood development.
For more up to date information regarding the sea turtle
conservation programme, please visit our partner's blogging website:
http://sumatranseaturtles.wildlifedirect.org or join our
'Yayasan Pulau Banyak' group on Facebook. You can also download our
biannual newsletter from this website. |
