Baby turtles are reintroduced to the wild at Nui Chua National Park in Ninh Thuan province (Photo: VNA)Ninh Thuan (VNA) – Over 1,500 baby sea turtles havebeen released into the sea at Nui Chua National Park in the central province ofNinh Thuan in the first 10 months of this year, rising 36 percent year on year.
Additionally, four mature turtles were alsosafely reintroduced to the wild. They belong to the green turtle, hawksbillturtle and loggerhead species, which are all classified as endangered,according to the park’s management board.
Tran Van Tiep, deputy director of the Nui ChuaNational Park management board, said the park is one of the few mainland areasin Vietnam where sea turtles come to lay their eggs each year. The reptile’snesting season usually lasts from March to October and peaks in June and July.
This year, thanks to favourable weatherconditions, the numbers of turtles nesting, eggs laid and baby turtles releasedhave increased, he noted.
Tiep added that to protect turtles and eggs frompredators and poachers, staff at the park and volunteers have kept a close eyeon the nesting grounds and conducted frequent patrols. They have also evacuatednests at risk of flooding, released baby animals safely into the sea andrescued those in danger.
[Programme to promote conservation of endangered sea turtles]
Statistics show that the population of seaturtles in Vietnam and other countries in the region is declining rapidly dueto poaching, trafficking, the use of turtle-related products, coral reef andseaweed degradation, water pollution, and dwindling food sources. Climatechange and marine plastic pollution have also influenced their habitat andhealth.
To help with conservation, the Nui Chua NationalPark has carried out numerous measures in coordination with many domestic andforeign organisations like the Nha Trang-based Institute of Oceanography, theWorld Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the Global Environment Fund (GEF) and theInternational Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The Nui Chua National Park covers an area ofabout 30,000 hectares with forest, sea and semi-arid areas. It is home to 1,054plant species and 345 animal species, many of which are listed in Vietnam’s RedData Book and the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Recently, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phucapproved a programme for endangered sea turtle conservation. As part of the programme,the Nui Chua National Park has been named as one of the prioritised areas forprotecting and recovering the habitat and nesting grounds of the reptiles./.
VNA
