ADDRESS

of

HER IMPERIAL HIGHNESS PRINCESS TAKAMADO OF JAPAN

on the occasion of the

LAUNCH OF THE “IOSEA YEAR OF THE TURTLE –2006” CAMPAIGN

Bangkok, Thailand

1 March 2006


To all of you gathered in Bangkok for the international launch of the “Indian Ocean – South-East Asia Year of the Turtle – 2006” campaign, I send my greetings. I was in Bangkok for the 3rd IUCN World Conservation Congress in 2004, which was opened in the presence of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit. Many important discussions were held during that conference and I learnt much. It is encouraging to note that a country, so environmentally blessed and rich as Thailand, is yet again hosting an important conservation initiative.

Although my commitments in Japan prevent me from being with you today, I would like to share with you a few of my thoughts concerning some of the issues involved, not as a scientist or specialist, but from the viewpoint of an amateur naturalist and perhaps from a somewhat Japanese perspective.

My first encounter with a marine turtle in the “wild” was about 15 years ago in Okinawa. A young Green Turtle had managed to get entangled in a fishing-net, and we set it free. I remember watching it swum effortlessly away with a strange feeling of exhilaration. (The cover of the wonderful calendar produced for the 2006 Year of the Turtle reminded me of that occasion!) Since then, I have shared countless precious moments in the sea with different marine turtles on various diving trips, mainly around Japan, and I think it true to say that to have a marine turtle swim alongside one is always a truly humbling, and deeply moving experience.

Japan is blessed with many different environmental areas due to its length, the high mountain range that runs the length of the country, its many islands and the major sea currents that flow by her. In fact, we have sea ice in the north and coral reefs in the south! Three species of turtle (the Green Turtle, the Loggerhead and the Hawksbill)have traditionally nested on the beaches of southern Japan. Yet, despite decades of continuous study in some places, the country’s real importance for marine turtles has been understood only fairly recently.

If I may be allowed to take the Loggerhead Turtle as an example, about a decade ago, geneticists discovered that turtles feeding off the Mexican coast of Baja California actually came from nesting beaches in Japan. This was confirmed in 1997 when a Loggerhead Turtle, fitted with a satellite transmitter, logged an astonishing 12,000 km travelling from Mexico to Japan, over the course of one year.

Scientists now know that these turtles may spend three or four decades roaming the North Pacific Ocean as they mature, before returning eventually to Japan to breed and nest. Others travel to neighbouring countries in South-East Asia.

As some of you may know, I serve as Honorary President of BirdLife International. BirdLife launched the Save the Albatross Campaign in 2000, with the aim of reducing the number of seabird deaths caused by the long-line fishing industry to a sustainable level. I know that effective technological solutions are being applied to address the problem of seabird by-catch. Reducing turtle by-catch is proving more challenging and complex. Indeed, workable solutions for one group of animals may have unexpected consequences for another. But I believe that practical solutions can and must be found to restore a balance between legitimate extraction of resources from the sea and the conservation of marine biodiversity.

Japan has been quite active in the field of turtle conservation; and in recent years, Japanese researchers have been at the forefront of efforts to reduce accidental deaths of sea turtles, by modifying fishing gear and practices. I personally find the invention of the “J-hook” very exciting, and the concept of using softer bait like mackerel as opposed to tougher ones like squid, rather amusingly practical.

Turtles face serious problems on land as well, whether from destruction of key nesting habitat, human disturbance, or from natural predators and beach erosion. The number of Loggerhead Turtles nesting in Japan has decreased by half in the 1990s, and today, fewer than 1,000 still nest in Japan.Their concentrated nesting areas in southern Japan are vital. If these are destroyed, the Loggerhead Turtle will disappear from the North Pacific entirely.

I mention some of the issues facing sea turtles in my native Japan, by way of example, because I believe that these problems are common to the Indian Ocean and South-East Asia as well. The land area is small relative to the population density in these regions. Marine turtles have always been an existence that is close to our hearts. Perhaps so much so that we have taken them for granted.

Sea turtles are many things to many people: a traditional source of food; the basis of livelihoods centred on sustainable tourism; the focus of investigative research, or simply an enduring source of inspiration and awe. As the Year of the Turtle’s theme message illustrates so aptly: sea turtles are ambassadors of our oceans, linking countries and communities around the world. We all have a common interest in their conservation.

150 million years ago, when marine turtles roamed the oceans, Homo sapiens were nowhere near existence. Now, national boundaries devised by people divide even the oceans. International agreements are imperative in their conservation, for these creatures need a habitat that spans vast expanses of water and specific areas of land; and they recognise no such boundaries.

In that sense, I am pleased to see that twenty-four countries have already signed the IOSEA Marine Turtle Memorandum of Understanding, as this is a visible commitment that paves the way for closer international collaboration in conservation efforts.

I take this opportunity of thanking the organisers for having asked me to act as anHonorary Patron of the Year of the Turtle Campaign. Much needs to be done, and I hope that the Year of the Turtle campaign will inspire fishing fleets to take measuresto prevent by-catch and communities to take action to improve their coastal environments.

Scientific data and correct criteria for judgement are important in setting out the priorities for action, but it is up to all of us to care about our breathtakingly beautiful planet, her incredibly complicated ecosystems and those life-forms that inhabit her. We have taken upon ourselves the leadership role. It follows that we all have a duty to maintain the balance and harmony of life on this planet.

I wish you a successful and positive Year of the Turtle.