The TURTLE FOUNDATION has been running successful projects for the protection of sea turtles in the Derawan archipelago, East of Borneo, Indonesia, since 2000 already. Various biologists have listed the archipelago amongst the most important ecological „Hotspots“ on Earth. This area is a highly important nesting and resting ground for sea turtles (especially for Chelonia mydas). It is home to one of the largest sea turtle populations throughout Southeast Asia. Medium-term it is planned to have the whole archipelago officially declared as a Marine Park. UNESCO is considering declaring the area as a „UNESCO World Heritage Site“ in the near future.
Most of the many islands in the archipelago are visited by sea turtles for nesting. However, there are five islands which are frequented by nesting turtles in great numbers all year round. Not too long ago every morning at dawn all nests were looted and the eggs were collected to be sold on the markets of nearby Borneo and elsewhere. The tracks left in the sand made it easy for the looters to locate all nests. An entrepreneur was able to acquire a license from local authorities to collect turtle eggs from Sangalaki and several neighboring islands despite the fact that such a permit was against national law. Turtle eggs are considered a delicacy, not only in Indonesia but also in many other areas of Southeast Asia, so they are in constant demand and the sale of turtle eggs is good business.
The TURTLE FOUNDATION finally managed to convince the local authorities that the looting of turtle eggs must stop. The licenses were not renewed and the egg collectors had to leave the turtle islands. Currently, the TURTLE FOUNDATION has fully protected three (Sangalaki, Mataha and Bilangbilangan) of the five islands by building a ranger station and sending rangers to these islands. Thanks to nightly beach patrols of the rangers no more nests are being poached there. The remaining two islands (Belambangan and Sambit) are just about being protected similarly.
Thanks to the TURTLE FOUNDATION more than 1 million baby turtles will hatch on the five protected islands annually!