Mataking, Malaysia – The palm-sized green turtle hatchling flailing through the sand on a Malaysian island may seem vulnerable, but its species has emerged as a symbol of hope for wildlife conservation. Green turtles have made the rare jump from endangered to “least concern” in global conservation rankings, a remarkable success when many species are declining. In its biannual Living Planet Report, released Thursday, conservation nongovernmental organization World Wildlife Fund (WWF) found a 73% decline in the average size of monitored wildlife populations over 53 years.
But around 50% of the thousands of vertebrates monitored for the report are stable or increasing. That includes green turtles, thanks to decades of efforts including egg relocation, marine protection and trade bans. Malaysian turtle expert Juanita Joseph has spent years on the front lines, carrying out cutting-edge genetic research and even convincing her own father to stop eating turtle eggs.
Still, when the International Union for the Conservation of Nature last year announced green turtles were no longer endangered, she could hardly believe it. I said I’ve done my part,” she said at Universiti Malaysia Sabah, where she is a professor. All six other sea turtle species are still vulnerable or critically endangered apart from the flatback turtle, whose status is unclear because of data shortages.
Turtles are targeted for food and their shells, killed in fishing nets, and constrained by development and pollution at nesting beaches and feeding grounds. Climate change also skews populations more female because heat determines sex development in eggs. Even now, recovery is uneven.
While green turtles globally are “least concern,” some regional populations are still endangered and declining. Malaysia is something of a regional exception. Green turtle nesting at Sabah state’s Turtle Islands has tripled since the 1970s to over 20,000 nests annually.
That reflects “over five decades” of work, said Sabah Parks director Maklarin Lakim. The Turtle Islands have been protected since 1977, and Sabah banned turtle meat and egg consumption in 1997. Since 2012, she and others in a women’s cooperative have relocated turtle eggs from beaches to a hatchery to protect them from predators and poachers.
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