Turtles Win One at Conservation Conference

The diamondback terrapin is native to coastal waters in most of the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico states.

Washington — An international conference on endangered species adopted U.S.- and Chinese-backed proposals to increase protections for 44 species of Asian freshwater turtles and tortoises and three species of North American pond turtles.

The 16th conference of the parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is under way in Bangkok from March 3-14.

Members of the U.S. delegation were encouraged by the March 8 adoption of measures to prevent trade in these wide-ranging creatures.

“More than half of the world’s freshwater turtles are threatened with extinction, yet they continue to be traded, unsustainably, for food, as pets and in traditional medicines,” said Bryan Arroyo, who leads international conservation programs at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and is part of the U.S. delegation. “We’ve taken a significant step forward today to begin managing that trade.”

Sponsored by the United States and China, the protections adopted by the CITES signatory nations will extend the strongest protective measures available under the treaty to a number of Asian softshell and hardshell turtle species. The proposal places these creatures on Appendix 1 of the treaty, meaning that they are threatened with extinction and commercial trade is banned with zero export quotas.

The range for these species includes Thailand, Japan, India, Pakistan, Liberia and Indonesia, and they too supported the stronger protections for turtles and tortoises.

The United States and Vietnam jointly submitted another proposal to impose the strictest trade standards for the big-headed turtles.

“Freshwater turtles worldwide are in desperate need of conservation, and the outlook for Asian turtles is especially grim,” Arroyo said. “We are committed to working with China and Vietnam and other CITES member nations to ensure the survival of these species.”

Tortoises and freshwater turtles are the most threatened of any major group of terrestrial vertebrates, with more than half the world’s species threatened by extinction. They are collected and traded by people who use them and their eggs for food, in traditional medicines or just as pets.

The U.S. delegation to CITES is concerned about its domestic turtle species as well as Asian species, hoping to halt a likely increase in demand. A pattern in the commercial trade of wildlife has been clearly established, according to an FWS news release. When a species becomes depleted or regulated in one region, the trade shifts to other regions and related species become vulnerable to harvesting.

“We must address this issue by taking a broad-scale approach to protecting freshwater turtles and tortoises,” Arroyo said. “If we fail to consider these trade patterns, we risk the depletion of turtles and tortoises one species at a time.”

The United States proposed protection of the domestic diamondback terrapin, the spotted turtle and Blanding’s turtle on CITES Appendix 2, which maintains market regulation through a trade-permitting system because the species may be in danger of extinction in an unregulated market. The CITES conference parties accepted those proposals by consensus.

Endorsed by 178 member nations, CITES marks its 40th anniversary this year with its protections covering about 5,000 animal species and 29,000 plants.

Turtles and tortoises are hardworking and ancient species, sharing the world with the dinosaurs 300 million years ago. About 300 species worldwide contribute to the planet’s biodiversity and help maintain healthy freshwater ecosystems, FWS reports, by dispersing seeds, limiting overgrowth, controlling insects and helping to keep water clean.

See an FWS page on the CITES conference to learn more about turtles and the proposals to protect them.