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    As Chandra made her way down the beach and into the surf, a knot of people on the sand watched anxiously, hoping she could run the gauntlet of offshore illegal trawlers and make it to safe waters. But even as Chandra disappeared into the Bay of Bengal she was still in touch. A black box attached to her shell transmitted data that would hopefully save one of the world's oldest species. Chandra's journey is part of a unique initiative in India to boost conservation of the endangered Olive Ridley Sea Turtles. Researchers hope to solve the riddle of why these turtles migrate over thousands of kilometres across international waters, by tracking their travels by satellite. The coast of Orissa, an eastern state of India, is the largest nesting site of Olive Ridley Turtles in the world. Although tens of thousands of turtles nest there, little is known of their migratory patterns, which is critical to conservation efforts. A team of researchers recently fitted 'Chandra', a nesting female, and three others with special tracking devices to help study long-range migrations and foraging patterns at sea. The transmitters send signals to a weather satellite whenever the turtles surface. Argos, a tracking service run by CLS of France, downloads the data and sends it to the project's researchers, who then map the turtles' paths. Satellite telemetry technology could soon be used in collecting information on at least three other turtle species in India, Green Sea Turtles, Leatherbacks and Hawksbill. The life cycles of turtles are remarkable and complex: Loggerheads undertake one of the longest breeding migrations, over 12,000 kilometres across the Pacific Ocean. Leatherbacks are amongst the deepest diving vertebrates, going down 1,300 metres in search of jellyfish. Many mysteries, such as the reasons and mechanisms of mass migrations remain unanswered. Partners in the research project include the wildlife wing of the Orissa Forest Department and Dehradun, the Wildlife Institute of India, and India's Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). The initiative is part of a wider effort in 10 Indian states to strengthen information gathering and collaboration on the biology and conservation of these endangered marine creatures. The UN Development Programme (UNDP) provides funding and the US Fish and Wildlife Service is contributing technical expertise in satellite telemetry to track the turtles, a major step forward in cooperation in the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean. In the Indian Ocean, six species of marine turtles are endangered from over harvesting for their meat and eggs; destruction of nests and feeding areas; and accidental by-catch in fishing operations. Another UN agency, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) administers the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) to protect endangered turtles in the Indian Ocean. As part of the global effort to protect the planet's biodiversity, the UNEP also administers one of the world's largest conservation agreements - the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, known as CITES. Adopted in 1973, it became international law two years later. More than 150 governments have ratified the treaty, which offers varying protection to more than 35,000 species of animals and plants, depending on their condition in the wild and the effect that international trade may have on them. CITES bans international commercial trade in species threatened with extinction, such as cheetahs, tigers, the great apes, many tortoises and birds of prey. It also protects other species, which are not threatened, but may be at serious risk unless international trade is strictly regulated
LEARN MORE about sea turtles and how the UN works with its partners around the world to save endangered species. Go to the links next to Chandra. Photo credit: UN |
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