Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity

Around 420 coral communities and reefs in Thailand root in the area around 96,357 Rais dispersing around remote coasts, river estu- aries, seawalls and almost all islands [ ] 217 Biodiversity strategies and investigations into the health of marine turtles Thailand has formulated three consecutive National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAP) as “National policies, measures and plans on the conservation and sus- tainable utilization of biodiversity”. The first covered the period 1998– 2002; the second covered 2003–2007; and the third and current NBSAP covers the period 2008–2012. The third NBSAP was formulated based on the 2010 biodiversity target, which was adopted by the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002, and developed policies, strategies and guidelines on imple- mentation regarding the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, in accordance with the sustainable de- velopment concept, with the intention to achieve the target to significantly reduce the rate of biodiversity loss by the year 2010, and in accordance with the CBD Strategic Plan, which was adopted by the Conference of the Par- ties at its seventh meeting in 2004. The Marine Turtles Nursery and Breeding Project The marine turtles nursery and breeding project, which aims to re- store the population of turtles to the wild, is one of the key measures in Thailand for marine turtle conserva- tion. In this project, the turtles were raised in breeding ponds until ma- turity so as to avoid predators, then released into the sea. This has been carried out in cooperation with local communities, the private and public sector, in order to raise awareness of marine turtle conservation among the youth and the public. In the fiscal year of 2007, the Marine and Coastal Resources and Mangrove Forests Research and Development Institute had bred 580 green turtles, 104 leath- erback turtles, and 93 olive ridley turtles, and periodically released the adult turtles into the sea, between December 2006 and April 2007 on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand. The marine turtles were bred at Mun- nai Island, Rayong Province. Projects related to the breeding and reproduction of marine turtles include the following investigations: • Evaluation of the efficiency of the reproductive system of marine turtles bred in Phuket Marine and Coastal Resources Institute • Project on electro-ejaculation of marine turtle semen • Study of the level of heavy metal in the blood and its relation to corti- costeroid and sex steroid to assess risks of reproduction in dolphins, dugongs and marine turtles. Marine turtle Thailand T hailand is one of the richest biodiversity countries in Southeast Asia. With its climatic diversity, topographic complexity, long coastline of 2,710 km, and extensive fringing reef systems, the country is endowed with a wild variety of floral and faunal habitats and rich biodiversity. Thailand lies within the two major biogeographical regions: the Indochinese region to the north and the Sundiac region to the south. However, the flora and fauna are also influenced by Indian and Palearctic biogeographical regions, resulting in six biogeographical units: North Highland, Korat Plateau, Central Plain of the Chao Phraya River, Southeast Upland, Tenassarim Hills, and Southern Peninsula. Adam Gliding on Unsplash