Working With The Funzi Turtle Club (Day 1)
Category: Community Conservation, Environmental Education, Funzi turtle club, Mangroves, Turtles | Date: Nov 10 2009 | By: gvikenya
This past Wednesday found the GVI marine team travelling from Wasini Island to Funzi Island for two days of training with the Funzi Bay Turtle Club, a local community effort to save endangered sea turtles. Currently there are about 30 members in the club, 20 of which, including the chair, are females from this traditional Muslim community on the island.
Since we usually spend our days on the water monitoring local and migratory marine species, to have two full days on dry land was quite a change of routine.
Douglas explaining the importance of sea turtle conservation
Upon arrival, we were met by one of the club members and taken to our house, where we met up with KESCOM volunteers Sonya and Avidad from Sweden, here for three months. KESCOM (Kenya Sea Turtle Conservation Committee) currently supports many grass-root turtle conservation efforts along the Kenyan coastline. This support comes in the form of monetary donations, grant writing, providing volunteers, management and contacts with other local organizations. Douglas is the KESCOM Funzi Island representative.
Jennifer LeClair giving the presentatoin about whales and dolphins
After our introductions we proceeded to the village for a tour and to the mangrove forest for a planting session. Since mangroves are among the fastest disappearing ecosystems in the world, each tree really counts! The turtle club also runs a shop with some very unique gifts made by local community members, and we all spend some time and money there.
Following a fabulous meal cooked by the ladies of the turtle club (one of many such delicious meals) we began our training with the group. Our goal was to help the club members learn to interact with tourists and to give them information that tourists would like to hear, in addition to giving them important information about habitat conservation. We showed a number of PowerPoint presentations to the group and with the help of Douglas on the Swahili translation, gave them information about ocean conservation, sea turtle identification and morphology, and local whale and dolphin species. Club members were extremely interested in learning and asked a number of thought provoking questions following each presentation.
Mangroves
One of the most common questions asked by the community members was how to explain to the other islanders (100% of which are fishermen) topics regarding conservation of the ocean environment. We were able to provide some examples, but in the end had to explain that changing people’s minds is a very slow process. Since entanglement in discarded fishing nets is one of the biggest threats to marine animals, we suggested that this was a good issue to start with in the community. We were very impressed with the concern of the club members about the welfare of the ocean habitats and animals, especially in an area of the country where ecosystem destruction and human disturbance is prevalent.
Overall, both sides seemed very pleased with the progress made during the first day of training. The volunteers of GVI would like to thank KESCOM and the Funzi Bay Turtle Club for there generous hospitality and delicious traditional food.
Mangroves of Funzi Island
Tags: , change of routine, club members, dolphin species, ecosystem destruction, endangered seas turtles, entanglement in disgarded fishing nets, funzi bay, Funzi Island, Funzi Tirtle Club, grant writing, grass0roots turlte conservatoin, human disturbance, Kenya Sea Turtle Conservation Committee, Kenyan coastline, KESCOM, local community members, local marine species, local organisations, mangrove ecosystems, migratory marine species, monetary donations, morphology, ocean conservation, ocean environment, powerpoint presentations, sea turtle identification, swahili translations, thought provoking questions, threats to marine mammals, tourists, traditional Muslim community, turtle club, unique gifts, volunteers, wasini island, whale species
Green Turtles Return To Nest In Mpunguti Island After Seven Years!
Category: Kisite Mpunguti MPA, Turtles, mpunguti island | Date: Oct 21 2009 | By: gvikenya
Around 2000 years ago, trade in sea turtle products was observed in the Red Sea and East Africa region and although trade in ambergris and ivory occurred, tortoise and turtle shell was the most commonly mentioned product. (Jack Frazier, Proceedings of the Western Indian Ocean Marine Turtle Conservation Workshop, Mombasa, 2005). All five species of Indian Ocean sea turtles are considered to be endangered and can be found in Kenya. Green turtles (Chelonia mydas) are reported to nest throughout the coastline but although there are some green turtle nests confirmed in the nearby area of Funzi Island, sea turtles haven’t laid their eggs in the KMMPA (Kisite-Mpunguti Marine Protected Area) for at least seven years.
So it was with great joy that last week GVI Kenya heard the good news about a green turtle visiting the white sandy beach located in the Lower Mpunguti Island. Lily, from Coral Spirit Restaurant, located in Wasini village, shared with us the pictures she took while she was visiting the island.
Green turtle arriving in Lower Mpunguti Island in September 2009 (photo by Lili Angel).
This is an amazing happening in this Marine Protected Area, and will hopefully contribute to the conservation efforts GVI and its major local partner KWS (Kenya Wildlife Service) are putting in place in the area. The islands of Mpunguti are known to support an important population of coconut crabs, nesting sites to African fish eagles, and its surrounding waters are frequently visited by Bottlenose and Humpback dolphins, as well as Hawksbill and Green turtles that feed on sea grass and algae. Both local fishermen and KWS rangers still recall the days when the turtles came to lay eggs on the Lower Mpunguti Island, the only sandy beach available for setting up the nest. It has been almost seven or eight years since the last turtle arrived on the Lower Mpunguti Island.
Female Green Turtle preparing the nesting site, throwing sand with her flippers (photo by Lili Angel).
Green turtle leaving the beach, returning to the sea (photo by Lili Angel).
Green turtles typically live about 45 to 59 years. Given that a female nests in six or seven of those years and lays about 330 eggs each nesting season, she will produce 1900-2300 eggs in her lifetime. Factoring in natural predation, fungus infection of nests, and other embryo failure rates, one can expect each healthy female to produce 1000-1900 hatchlings (Spotila, James R. Sea Turtles, 2004). This information emphasises the importance of a single nest in this region. Although this turtle did not lay its eggs, she might go back to the nesting place or other turtles might look for this place as an option to nest. The next crucial step in this process is to take management actions in order to protect the nesting area and recognize it as a non-disturbance place.
Nesting site attempt (photo by Lili Angel)
The historic decline of green turtles is one of the most cited and best documented conservation issues. Its population has declined 50-70% since the 1900’s and they are recognized internationally as endangered by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and are protected in the Appendix I of the Conventional on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and in Appendix I and II of the Convention Migratory Species (CMS).
The Kenya Sea Turtle Conservation Committee (KESCOM) was established to complement government commitment to addressing global concerns for marine turtle population decline. GVI works closely with KESCOM in sea turtle conservation efforts, through research, education and capacity building activities such as training in biology and ecology of sea turtles. The data and the pictures collected in our study area (KMMPA) are shared with this organization in order to recognize and protect important foraging, mating and nesting areas for sea turtles. The ultimate goal is to restore green turtles to population levels at which they can fulfil the ecological roles they performed in the past.
Ines Gomez
Tags: , African Fish Eagle, algae, ambergris, biology, bottlenose dolphin, capacity building, coconut crab, conservation issues, Convention Migratory Species, Conventional on International Trade in Endangered Speci, Coral Spirit Restaurant, East Africa, ecology, education, embryo failure rates, endangered, fishermen, fungus infection, Funzi Island, global conscerns, hawksbill turtle, humpback dolphin, indian ocean, ivory, Kenya, Kenya Sea Turtle Conservation Committee, Kenya Wildlife Service, kisite mpunguti marine protected area, KWS rangers, Lower Mpunguti Island, management actions, natural predation, Red Sea, research, sea grass, sea turtles, tortoise shell, turtle shell, Wasini Village, World Conservation Union
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