15 Aug 2007 - Port Moresby,
Papua New Guinea – WWF and Papua New Guinea’s
national postal service are issuing a new
series of postal stamps featuring six species
of endangered marine turtles found in the
country’s waters — leatherback, green, hawksbill,
loggerhead, olive ridley and flatback.
“We are pleased to be working with Post
PNG to generate community awareness on threats
to marine turtles,” said Robert Yen, WWF-Papua
New Guinea’s Marine Programme Manager.
“Government and corporate agencies can
play an important role in raising awareness
about environment damage in Papua New Guinea.”
Papua New Guinea has some of the world’s
most important nesting beaches, feeding
areas and nurseries for leatherback, hawksbill,
green and loggerhead turtles.
Although internationally protected, the
marine turtle populations are on the decline
as a result of over-harvesting for meat
and egg consumption, accidental capture
in fishing nets, coastal development and
marine pollution.
“There are some steps, however, that everyone
can take right now to protect our marine
turtles,” Yen added. “This includes leaving
turtles alone when visiting beaches, and
not buying turtles at markets or any products
made with turtle parts.”
Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and the Solomon
Islands last year agreed to protect the
crucially endangered leatherback turtle
in the Pacific through joint conservation
activities.
The tri-national partnership, supported
by WWF, will allow the three countries to
enhance conservation of leatherback turtles
through information sharing, data exchange
and cooperative research. It also plans
to establish a network of marine protected
areas covering critical leatherback habitats
throughout parts of the western Pacific
Ocean.
Lydia Kaia, Communications Officer
WWF-Papua New Guinea
