First Consultation to Facilitate the Creation of a

Mediterranean Sea Turtle Conservation Network

Keskin Hotel, Dalyan, Turkey

3 - 4 June 1999

RESOLUTION OF THE MEETING
 
 

RESOLUTION OF THE MEETING

The participants in the “First Consultation (Meeting) to Facilitate the Creation of a Mediterranean Sea Turtle Conservation Network”, Dalyan, Turkey, 3-4 June 1999 :

INSPIRED by Agenda 21, adopted by the U. N. Conference on Environment and Development, which recognizes the need to protect and restore endangered marine species and to conserve their habitats, and the Barcelona Convention, as amended, which advocates for a “coordinated and comprehensive regional approach” to protecting the Mediterranean Sea;

ACKNOWLEDGING that in accordance with the best available scientific evidence, species of sea turtles in the Mediterranean Region are depleted and endangered, and that some populations may face imminent risk of extinction;

RECALLING that Mediterranean sea turtles are currently protected by the African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Bern Convention), the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (Bonn Convention), and the Protocol [to the Barcelona Convention] concerning Specially Protected Areas of the Mediterranean,

REALIZING that despite a laudable degree of protection from national and international legislation and treaties, and ongoing conservation efforts, Mediterranean sea turtles continue to be subject to exploitation, mortality, injury, displacement, pollution and habitat loss as a direct or indirect result of human-related activities;

CONSIDERING that sea turtles are highly migratory and that their protection requires cooperation among stakeholders at all levels (local, national and regional);

RECOGNIZING the importance of cooperative conservation efforts, including information exchange, compatibility in data collection and reporting, the consistent application of best practices, and coordinated responses to issues of shared concern; 

RECOGNIZING the importance of integrating the efforts of scientists and NGO's into national and inter-national policy-making, and

CONCERNED that present levels of cooperation and collaboration in the areas of research, conservation, edu-cation and public awareness are insufficient to secure the survival of sea turtles in the Mediterranean Region; 

AGREE :

To pursue the feasibility and the creation of a Mediterranean sea turtle conservation network, which has as its goal “to create an inclusive regional network of sea turtle NGO's, scientists, conservationists, educators, policy-makers and others capable of taking effective, collaborative action to prevent the extinction and promote the recovery of sea turtles in the Mediterranean Region.”