Published without a T-PVS Reference: Status of the Nile Soft-shelled Turtle, Trionyx triunguis

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Status of the Nile Soft-shelled Turtle, Trionyx triunguis, in Turkey.

An assessment in the Çukurova Delta With Recommendations for Conservation Management Report for the 20th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Bern Convention) Report prepared by Max Kasparek in co-operation with the LIFE Project of the EC. “Çukurova Delta Biosphere Reserve” Commissioned by MEDASSET The Mediterranean Association to Save the Sea Turtles September 2000.

INTRODUCTION. The Bern Convention and Trionyx triunguis. The Nile Soft-shelled Turtle, Trionyx triunguis, occurs in the eastern Mediterranean. The main populations are found in Turkey and Israel, with a few smaller populations in Egypt, the Lebanon and Syria. The species is seriously threatened. It has been estimated that the total Mediterranean population does not exceed 500 adults (Kasparek & Kinzelbach 1991). The species has been included in Appendix II of the “Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats” (Bern Convention) on the 16th Meeting of the Standing Committee, 2-6 December, 1996. The Convention dealt with the Nile Soft-shelled Turtle, Trionyx triunguis, in its “Recommendation No. 26 (adopted on 6 December 1991) on the conservation of some threatened reptiles in Europe”. In this recommendation, the Standing Committee “recommends that the Government of Turkey: ! ensure, by most appropriate means, protection of all important populations of Trionyx triunguis by protection of the Dalaman delta and the maintenance of the clean and pristine catchment of its river; ! ensure protection of Seyhan and Ceyhan lower rivers with sufficient conservation measures to prevent adverse developments; ! ensure protection of the Dalyan delta and prevent sewage discharge and damage by powerboats; ! investigate and offset adverse affects on the species of fish traps and persecution;” During a progress review in 1994, the Government of Turkey reported both achievements and difficulties in putting this Recommendation into practice. A Group of Experts subsequently decided that Recommendation no. 26 should remain valid and should be considered as a national priority. The Trionyx issue was again on the agenda of the Standing Committee Meetings in 1996 and 1997, but no considerable progress in the protection of this species could be demonstrated. The report by the Turkish Government in the 1999 Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention (T-PVS(99)31) showed again that some deliberations on protection measures were made by the concerned ministry, but no practical steps towards conservation were taken. In order to support conservation of this highly threatened species, since 1998 MEDASSET has initiated field surveys along the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, assessments of the

MEDASSET: Status of Trionyx triunguis in the Çukurova Delta, Turkey (2000).

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