Marine Turtle Conservation Project 2012-2013 (aggregated per 1-degree cell)

Original provider: Emirates Wildlife Society-WWF Dataset credits: Data provider Emirates Wildlife Society WWF - Marine Research Foundation Originating data center Satellite Tracking and Analysis Tool (STAT) Project partner This project is implemented by the Emirates Wildlife Society and the Marine Research Foundation, along with numerous partners in the region:

Iran - Department of Environment

Oman - Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs and Environment Society of Oman

Qatar- Environmental Studies Center (Qatar University), Ministry of Environment and Ras Laffan Industrial City

United Arab Emirates- Environment Agency Abu Dhabi, Environment Protected Areas Authority - Sharjah, Emirates Marine Environment Group

This year we are also very fortunate to have tags run under a separate programme by the Environment Society of Oman (ESO) Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs (MECA) featured on our site. MECA and ESO have generously shared their data with this programme - the more turtles we track, the more we learn, so a big thanks to them for their help with this!

Emirates Wildlife Society is a national (UAE) environmental non-governmental organization. EWS is established under the patronage of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in the Western region and Chairman of Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD). Since its establishment in 2001, EWS has been working in association with WWF. The mission of EWS-WWF is to conserve the natural heritage of the UAE and to promote sustainablelifestyles. So far,projects have included the establishment of protected areas, protection of species and habitats and increasing environmental awareness through education programmes.

The Marine Research Foundation, based in Sabah, Malaysia, was established to further the understanding of marine ecosystems and their associated diverse flora and fauna in Southeast Asia and other Indo-Pacific sites. The Foundation carries out a number of projects related to biodiversity assessment and conservation, and seeks to provide management-oriented solutions to Government administrations and conservationists. Based in Malaysia, MRF runs projects in numerous countries and has a key focus area in the Middle East, with current direct involvement in marine turtle projects in Qatar, UAE, and Oman, and past involvement in projects in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Yemen. Abstract: Marine turtle populations around the globe are threatened through over-harvesting and habitat loss due to increased coastal development, urbanisation and industrialisation. Nowadays, critical measures are urgently needed to safeguard the turtle nesting sites, their feeding and breeding sites at sea, and their migratory pathways.

But while we know a lot about turtle nesting sites, we know little about where they spend most of their lives: at sea. Today, critical measures are urgently needed to safeguard the few remaining turtle nesting sites, their feeding and breeding sites at sea, and their migratory pathways.

The Marine Turtle Conservation Project focuses on 4 countries in the Gulf region: UAE, Oman, Qatar and Iran.

The project links together numerous stakeholders, from Government agencies to NGOs to the private sector, and will combine scientific research and monitoring with environment awareness centered on marine turtle protection.

By tracking marine turtles at a regional scale, the project aims to raise the collective awareness of their plight, and provide concrete links at an international level on which these nations may develop concurrent conservation agendas.

The objectives of the project are the following:

• Develop strategic partnerships amongst government agencies, NGOs and the private sector at both National and Regional levels;
• Raise the awareness of marine turtle conservation needs at National and Regional levels;
• Elucidate the post-nesting migrations and biology of marine turtles using satellite tracking;
• Identify foraging grounds of endangered marine turtles and linkages between nesting and feeding population assemblages;
• Share tracking data and findings to relevant authorities and contribute to the development of a regional marine turtle conservation plan;
• Integrate these conservation initiatives within international conservation agreements on marine turtles and national programmes. Supplemental information: Visit STAT's project page for additional information. This dataset is a summarized representation of the telemetry locations aggregated per species per 1-degree cell.