Literaturdatenbank
Literaturdatenbank |
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Juvik, J. O. , Tortoises and tourists: applications of the “mauna lani” model for integrating resort branding and chelonian conservation. Paper presented at Turtle Survival Alliance 2007 Annual Meeting.
Added by: Admin (13 Dec 2008 22:23:43 UTC) |
| Resource type: Proceedings Article BibTeX citation key: Juvik2007 View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: Chelonia, Chelonia mydas, Cheloniidae, Geochelone, Geochelone platynota, Habitat = habitat, Schildkröten = turtles + tortoises, Südostasien = South East Asia, Testudinidae Creators: Juvik Collection: Turtle Survival Alliance 2007 Annual Meeting |
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| Abstract |
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There is a substantial history of resorts and ecotourism enterprises “greening-up” through linkages with local conservation initiatives. These linkages may be motivated by marketing (branding) strategies, the self interest of ecotourism ventures in protecting the “product”, or even government mandated, offsite mitigation requirements for resort development in sensitive environmental areas. As an example, Walt Disney World’s shaky launch into conservation in the 1980s (the ill-fated Dusky Seaside Sparrow project) has grown into the multi-million dollar, Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund supporting a wide range of international wildlife conservation projects, including the TSA. The up-scale, Mauna Lani Resort on the South Kohala Coast of Hawai`i has had a long and successful involvement in the head-starting of Hawaiian honu (green sea turtles, Chelonia mydas). Under permits and monitoring by the USFWS, Mauna Lani annually receives honu hatchlings from a captive breeding project at a local marine wildlife park. These animals are headstarted for about two years (until reaching carapace lengths of 35-40cm) in the extensive anchialine pond complex on the resort property. Turtle are released into the ocean annually, amid a celebrity-studded gala (e.g. Kevin Cosner) each 4th of July (“honu independence day”.) Over 120 turtles have been released since the program began in 1989. The resort complements its headstarting with a comprehensive on-property turtle education program both for guests and local student groups. Turtles previously fitted with satellite tracking transmitters can also be followed at the resort website (www.maunalaniculture.org/turtles/). Resort developments are expanding rapidly on environmentally sensitive tropical coasts and islands world-wide, and some of these developments may possess conditions suitable for turtle/tortoise conservation partnering following the Mauna Lani model. We explore two examples where tortoise conservation opportunities may exist: Geochelone platynota in Myanmar: difficulties relative to in-range habitat conservation, illegal trafficking, and poorly resourced headstarting abound in Myanmar. Internationally, the threatened endemic Geochelone platynota is now being bred in significant numbers in captivity, by both hobbyists and some institutions. Any attempt at repatriation of captive-bred stock to Myanmar would obviously confront the same difficulties outlined above, and in addition a further range of strict IUCN reintroduction protocols (e.g. health and genetic issues). Myanmar’s Mergui Archipelago includes hundreds of islands in the Andaman Sea about 300km southwest of Bangkok, Thailand. Because of this proximity, Myanmar tourist hotels and other ecotourism facilities are expanding rapidly in the Mergui islands. Although similar in tropical monsoon climate and vegetation, this region is outside the historic range of G. platynota. Co-operating resorts could head start juveniles of this reasonably charismatic species, and release them into their bounded, small island environments; subject of course to appropriate habitat assessment and potential impact on the local biota. Captive tortoises would be on view at the resort property, and free-ranging tortoises (with transmitters) could be sought out by guest along adjacent forest hiking trails, or tracked on hotel websites. These populations would be used to advertise the larger plight of Asian chelonians and funds would be raised for these broader conservation campaigns through explicit room rate surcharges and donations. Extinct giant tortoises in the Bahamas and Turk & Caicos Islands. Recent research (personal communication, Richard Franz, Florida State Museum) has confirmed that the last giant tortoises of the Caribbean disappeared only in the past 400-1200 years from some islands. The latest archaeological evidence suggests that at certain locales, they were extirpated only after European contact in the 16th century. The re-introduction of proxy giant tortoises in resort island situation could potentially restore lost ecological equilibrium, mirroring current efforts in the Seychelles and Mascarene Islands.
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