Decision 12.17 - Marine Turtles

The Scientific Council should:

a) Review relevant scientific information on conservation and threats to marine turtles, such as climate change and sky glow, to develop new recommendations for the conservation of all species of marine turtles included in Appendix I or II of the Convention, for presentation at the 13th meeting of the Conference of the Parties;

b) Develop a draft Single Species Action Plan for the conservation of the Hawksbill Turtle to be presented at the 13th meeting of the Conference of the Parties, to address the trade, use and other threats to their conservation in South-East Asia, and the adjacent western Pacific. This Single Species Action Plan should be developed in collaboration with the Indian Ocean South-East Asia Marine Turtle Memorandum of Understanding and with relevant non-governmental organizations, taking into account the outcome of CITES Decision 17.222, which mandates an assessment on marine turtle trade, that assessment scheduled for completion in time for discussion at the 70th meeting of the CITES Standing Committee in October 2018.

Parties are invited to provide funding to the Secretariat to support the implementation of this Decision.

The Scientific Council is requested, subject to the availability of resources, to:

a) review, as far as feasible in collaboration with the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation and Management of Marine Turtles and their Habitats of the Indian Ocean and South-East Asia (IOSEA Marine Turtle MOU) and the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles, relevant scientific information on conservation and threats to marine turtles, such as climate change;

b) based on this review, develop new recommendations for the conservation of all species of marine turtle included in Appendix I or II of the Convention including the preservation of the current nesting beaches and the identification of new nesting beaches, for presentation at the 14th meeting of the Conference of the Parties;

c) develop, in collaboration with the IOSEA Marine Turtle MOU, CITES, Ramsar Convention and relevant non-governmental organizations and supported by the Secretariat, a draft Single Species Action Plan for the conservation of Hawksbill Turtles to be presented preferably at the 14th meeting of the Conference of the Parties, to address their trade and use in South-East Asia, and the adjacent Western Pacific, and taking into account the 2019 CITES Report on Status, Scope and Trends of the Legal and Illegal International Trade in Marine Turtles, its Conservation Impacts, Management Options and Mitigation Priorities, as well as the Hawksbill Assessment under preparation by the Advisory Committee of the IOSEA Marine Turtle MOU.