Pig-nosed Turtles of the Kikori

In Papua New Guinea, the contemporary pressures of global trade in turtles comes on top of concerns about pressures internal to the country, brought about by a changing relationship between the local people and their traditional resources. The pignosed turtle is widely and heavily exploited for its meat and eggs and is an important component of the subsistence economies in New Guinea. Stereotyped nesting habits render the pig-nosed turtle (like sea turtles) extremely susceptible to over-exploitation. The IUCN Red Data Book lists traditional hunting of turtles and harvesting of eggs in southern New Guinea as the principal threat to the species.

Levels of exploitation in the Gulf and Western Provinces have been exacerbated in recent times by the introduction of modern technology, principally outboard motors and because, as clan warfare has decreased, people have moved from the hinterland to more convenient locations along the river banks. Populations of the pig-nosed turtle in New Guinea are reported to have declined sharply between 1960 and 1980. More recent surveys indicate that the level of harvest of nesting females and eggs remains very high. The volume of turtles and eggs passing through the Kikori markets in 2003 compared to 1982 indicate that the decline of this species has continued unabated. The pig-nosed turtle is in trouble in the Kikori, and if trends recorded over past decades continue, we could see a collapse of an important resource in the subsistence economy of the local people, and a collapse in one of a diminishing number of strongholds for the pig-nosed turtle within its already restricted range.

Decisions on whether to take action and what action to take is largely a matter for Kikori communities. They need to decide how important the pig-nosed turtle is to them, whether they are concerned to ensure that the turtle populations are there for future generations, whether they wish to respond to concerns from the global community, and what opportunities might be created by virtue of the spectacular and interesting species in their backyard.

These decisions need to be made on an informed basis. WWF has been very active in working with local communities to raise awareness of the problem and to chart effective action. They have identified the pig-nosed turtle as a priority species, and will be working with the communities in the future to address its conservation as a resource for the community and as a threatened species globally.

Our research is designed to inform this process.

There are many things about the pig-nosed turtle that we do not know. Are they really in decline? Can we gather data now that we can compare with data collected in the 1980's by Mark Rose to estimate by how much turtle populations have declined? We have recently learned that the sex of the young turtles depends on how hot the eggs are in the nest - hot nests produce all females, cold nests produce all males. This means that some places in the Kikori may be special for producing males and other places special for producing females. Where are these places, and how do they fit into the places where eggs are heavily harvested? Harvesting adult females may have a great impact on the turtle population, but what about harvest of the eggs? Can we work out what the best way is to moderate the impact of harvest, if in fact the population is declining?

These are all questions that cannot be answered without further research, conducted at the same time as the community develops its plan of action with the help of WWF.

This work is funded by Oil Search Ltd with addtional logistic support from WWF (PNG).

For further information, contact

Arthur Georges or Carla Eisemberg, Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra, ACT 2601 Phone (02) 62015786 Email "surname"@aerg.canberra.edu.au