Turtles Under Threat!

Hello!

My friend and I are trying to start a letter writing campaign regarding the
threat to the habitat of the loggerhead turtle in Greece. Please read this article
in the Guardian on the plight of the loggerhead turtles in Zakynthos, Greece.

http://travel.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,7445,1274402,00.html

If you would like to put pressure on the Greek government to protect this
endangered species, then please copy the letter below into a Word file, print
it out, sign it and send it to:

H.E. Ambassador Stelios Mallikourtis,
The Greek Embassy,
1 Upper Pembroke Street,
Dublin 2

or else copy and paste it into an email (it's probably better than just
forwarding it, as it looks more professional) and mail it to H.E.
Ambassador Stelios Mallikourtis at dubgremb@eircom.net. It would be great if
you could forward it to any of your friends who might be interested
too.

If you have any other suggestions to raise awareness of this issue,
please contact us at this address ( helen.carr@SaveTurtles.com ).

Please take action on this; I can't bear to think of the poor little
turtles crawling towards night clubs instead of the sea, and anyway, the
turtles have been coming to Zakythos for about 10 million years -- I
don't see why they should be driven away by humans!

Thanks very much for your help,

Helen and Eoin

For more information on this issue see:

http://www.panda.org.za/article.php?id=319

Letter:

---

Ambassador Stelios Mallikourtis,
Embassy of Greece,
1 Upper Pembroke Street,
Dublin 2
Email: dubgremb@eircom.net

Dear Ambassador Mallikourtis,

I am writing to voice my strong opposition to the cessation of
conservation activity at the National Marine Park of Zakynthos, which formerly
protected the loggerhead turtles - (Caretta caretta) nesting grounds
on the island, and the subsequent opening of Laganas beach to tourists.
The National Marine Park was created following a 1992 European
Commission (EC) directive decreeing that Greece must conserve the Zakynthos
nesting grounds. I urge the Greek government to respect its international
commitments and take immediate action to protect this important
habitat.

The nesting season for the loggerhead turtle - an endangered species
- is from May to October, and thus coincides with the tourist season.
The turtles come ashore to lay their eggs in the sand, after a
two-month incubation period the hatchlings should emerge and, guided by the
light of the moon, make their way to the sea. On Laganas beach many
turtles are too alarmed by the tourist activity to approach the nesting
grounds, and many of the eggs that are successfully laid in the sand are
crushed by cars and motorbikes; those hatchlings that do emerge are often
confused by lights from buildings and streets, which cause them to
wander inland where they are crushed by vehicles or die in the sunlight
from heat exhaustion.

Even under ideal circumstances loggerhead turtles are a vulnerable
species, with only a small percentage of hatchlings surviving to maturity.
Water pollution, light-pollution, crowded beaches, loss of nesting
habitat and the risk of drowning in fishing nets have all contributed to
the drastic decline of the loggerheads and other sea turtles. If
conservation activity resumes at the National Marine Park of Zakynthos, Greece
would be going some way towards redressing the balance in the
animals' favour.

Zakynthos is known across the world for its turtles and much of the
merchandise sold to tourists on the island is turtle-related. Scientists
consider Zakynthos to be the most important endangered turtle habitat in
Europe and among the most important in the world. It would be
disastrous, both from an environmental perspective and from the perspective of
the tourist industry, if the loggerhead turtle was to become extinct on
Zakynthos due to poor management of its habitat and the desire for
short-term profits from uncontrolled tourism.

Maintaining a balance between the needs of the turtles and those of the
tourists is not impossible: forbidding water sports on the beach,
closing the beach at night and having it patrolled by wardens would allow
package tourism and eco-tourism (aimed at bringing in turtle-watchers
with minimal environmental impact) to exist side by side. The loggerhead
turtles have been coming to Laganas for millions of years, and it is the
duty of the Greek Government to safeguard this endangered species.

I hope that you will take decisive action on this issue now that it has
been brought to your attention.

Yours sincerely,

(Your Name)