UN Conference adopts
a new conservation strategy to protect the
sea cow
Bonn/Abu Dhabi, 7 October 2010 - Dugongs
are believed to have been at the origin
of mermaid legends when spotted swimming
in the water from a distance.
Now the remaining populations of this seemingly
clumsy sea mammal, commonly known as a sea
cow, are at serious risk of becoming extinct
within the next 40 years.
At an international
meeting this week on dugongs convened by
the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory
Species of Wild Animals (UNEP/CMS) in Abu
Dhabi, governments, International and Non-Governmental
Organizations and experts discussed solutions
to protect the world's only herbivorous
mammal living in marine waters.
CMS Executive Secretary
Elizabeth Maruma Mrema said: "Simple
innovative tools and new incentives for
local fishermen have been presented to the
signatories to the CMS dugong agreement,
which might prevent this rare species from
becoming extinct."
A newly developed innovative
toolbox to mitigate threats to dugongs includes
incentives to replace harmful gillnets with
alternative fishing gear to reduce bycatch
and minimize the mortality rates.
According to an assessment
undertaken in 2008, the dugong is now extinct
in the Maldives, Mauritius and Taiwan, and
declining in other waters in at least a
third of the areas where it is found. However,
at present, information on the dugongs is
too limited to even assess completely the
threats.
Manmade threats pose
the greatest risk to the gentle sea cow.
Illegal poaching, unsustainable hunting
by local communities, severe injuries from
ships and vanishing seagrass beds are accelerating
a critical loss of habitat and threatening
populations.
The use of gillnets has
led to the incidental entanglement in fishing
gear, which is also a major threat. As fisheries
become increasingly commercialized, bycatch
will become even more frequent and serious.
The second largest threat is unsustainable
direct consumption which can result once
a dugong is caught in the nets. In addition,
dugongs are also legally hunted by local
communities in some countries for traditional
consumption.
Risks from manmade threats
are exacerbated by the dugong's low reproduction
rates. Even the slightly reduced survival
rate of adults as a result of habitat loss,
disease, hunting or drowning in nets, can
trigger a dramatic decline.
Initiating and enhancing
regional cooperation among the countries
that host dugong populations is essential
to ensure the survival of this unique marine
mammal.
Data from fishermen
surveyed in 20 countries in the Pacific
Islands, South Asia as well as the United
Arab Emirates are now available and will
be reviewed to assess the threat of fishing
on the survival of the dugongs in parts
of its migratory range. The data will be
combined into a geographical information
system to identify the trouble spots, provide
crucial information on existing populations
and map important habitat areas such as
seagrass beds.
The data from the surveys
will also help complete missing information
on areas where threats to the dugong might
be very high and enable local communities
to preserve critical habitat. In 2011, the
survey will be extended to countries in
East Africa and the Western Indian Ocean
Islands, Northwestern Indian Ocean as well
as South Asian regions.
Other solutions that
seek to protect valuable dugong habitat
as well as breeding and feeding areas include
establishing spatial closures as marine
reserves and temporal constraints to fishing
operations. Incentives, such as loans for
buying new boats, for fishermen to use line-fishing
gear were also discussed as were educational
campaigns and measures to improve the livelihood
of local communities as a way to complement
conservation efforts.
The meeting concluded
that the conservation strategy should address
the need for greater protection of marine
biodiversity by combining different conservation
tools. These tools are also necessary for
reducing the entanglement in fishing gear
of other marine species such as whales and
dolphins, turtles and coastal sharks.
Governments represented
at the meeting will develop potential pilot
projects to implement these new incentive
based tools from which other marine species
may benefit as well.
Addressing threats to
dugongs requires a multidisciplinary approach.
The conservation strategy agreed at this
meeting requires expertise and guidance
from scientists specializing in dugong biology,
marine resource management, coastal development,
sustainable development, social sciences,
economics, law and other relevant fields.
At the meeting, Bahrain,
Palau, Seychelles, Vanuatu and Yemen also
signed the CMS Dugong agreement bringing
the number of signatories to 18. More countries
are likely to follow in the near future.
The agreement provides
a platform for cooperation among governments
and regions to develop and implement conservation
measures to ensure the long term survival
of this unique marine mammal.
Notes to Editors:
The Convention on the
Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild
Animals (UNEP/CMS), also known as the Bonn
Convention, works for the conservation of
a wide array of endangered migratory animals
worldwide through the negotiation and implementation
of agreements and action plans. At present,
114 countries are parties to the Convention.
(www.cms.int)
The UNEP/CMS Office
in Abu Dhabi is co-located with the Environment
Agency - Abu Dhabi. It aims to implement
the agreements on dugongs and African-Eurasian
migratory birds of prey. The CMS dugong
agreement was concluded in 2007 and signed
by 13 countries: Australia, Comoros, Eritrea,
France, India, Kenya, Madagascar, Myanmar,
Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands,
Tanzania and the United Arab Emirates.
