JAKARTA - The preservation of turtles is one of the important focuses in maintaining the health of the marine ecosystem, especially in coastal areas which are the location for laying eggs and feeding for these protected animals.
Conservation efforts are not only aimed at maintaining turtle populations, but also ensuring the balance of the food chain as well as the sustainability of the coral reefs and the salt marsh that serve as their habitat.
The Nusantara Nature Conservation Foundation (YKAN) strengthens the protection of turtles in the Derawan Islands, East Kalimantan, together with six countries that are part of the Coral Triangle initiative.
The six countries include Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and the Solomon Islands, which are committed to maintaining an area with the highest marine biodiversity in the world.
YKAN Senior Sea Protection Manager, Yusuf Fajariyanto, explained that conservation in Derawan Islands, Berau Regency, was carried out by involving local people while utilizing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology.
In October 2025, the team conducted an aerial survey to map the distribution, population estimates, and patterns of turtle habitat use in the waters.
The data from the aerial monitoring was then processed using the Sea Turtle Nesting Beach Indicator Tools approach. The use of UAVs was considered effective because it was able to produce high-resolution spatial data with a large area coverage in a relatively short time and more efficient costs.
This technology-based information is combined with field monitoring by the community, so that it becomes the basis for preparing action plans for turtle protection in the Coastal Conservation Area and Small Islands of the Derawan Islands and the Waters Around (KKP3K KDPS). According to Yusuf, the success of conservation requires long-term collaboration between residents, government, and development partners so that the benefits can be felt across generations.
International support also flows through the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) through the International Climate Initiative program.
Meanwhile, the Head of the Pontianak Marine Management Office, Syarif Iwan Taruna Alkadrie, emphasized that the protection of turtles has a strong legal basis, both at the national and global levels.
All turtle species in Indonesia are fully protected so that they cannot be caught, traded, or used in any form. The regulation refers to Government Regulation Number 7 of 1999 and is strengthened by the Decree of the Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Number 66 of 2025.
At the international level, turtles are also listed in Appendix I of CITES and are included in the IUCN Red List with endangered to critical categories. Therefore, synergy between the government and the community is considered to be the main factor in maintaining the survival of this animal.
As the largest archipelago country with more than 17,500 islands, Indonesia has a strategic role in global marine conservation. Of the seven turtle species in the world, six of them are found in Indonesian waters, making protection efforts in areas such as the Derawan Islands increasingly crucial for the sustainability of marine ecosystems.
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