Shellshock
EAZA Turtle and Tortoise Campaign 2004/5
Activities
EAZA members join forces for tsunami turtles
Chester Zoo and Colchester Zoo have joined forces to help a small
community in Sri Lanka which has been devastated by the tsunami.
Both Zoos are donating UKŁ2,000 (about €3,000) as part of the EAZA Shellshock Campaign. The zoos’ efforts are being matched with a further UKŁ2,000 from EAZA’s central Shellshock fund. Residents of Kosgoda on the south west peninsula of the island are completely dependent on turtle conservation activities for their livelihood through a Turtle Conservation Project (TCP) which employs a large number of local people and normally attracts thousands of visitors.
Like the rest of the country it is likely to suffer long term from declining visitor numbers and from related infrastructure problems while the country gets back on its feet. The money will help to provide water and medical supplies to hundreds of displaced community members and will enable the important TCP to recommence as soon as possible to help rebuild the whole community. Some staff have been lost and many families bereaved. The survivors are sheltering in refugee camps and they urgently need help to rebuild their lives and homes away from the sea.
The TCP was established in 1995 to protect marine turtles through educating and involving communities in conservation activities in three coastal locations around Kosgoda. Five different species of turtle nest in Sri Lanka and all are internationally registered as endangered or critically endangered. The Project has been enormously successful and many of its staff are former turtle egg poachers turned nest protectors.
Chester Zoo’s Curator of Lower Vertebrates and Invertebrates Kevin Buley
who is coordinating the EAZA Shellshock Campaign said: “The fundraising efforts of the Shellshock
Campaign are now more important than ever. Numerous coastal villages in
Asia devastated by the tsunami are dependent on marine turtle
conservation initiatives as their primary source of income. “By helping
these people restart the conservation projects as soon as possible we
not only restore their livelihoods, but we also help to reduce the
effect of this natural disaster on the critically endangered turtle
populations." Anthony Tropeano, Colchester Zoo’s curator added:
“Colchester Zoo has set UKŁ30,000 as its target for fundraising for
endangered turtles and tortoises. Achieving this total is now more
important than ever.”
Photo: Kevin Buley, Shellshock
Campaign Organiser
Campaign Organiser
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