1 February 2008
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Indigenous land and sea mangers from the Torres
Strait present Seri Indian elders with a framed Dhari. (L-R) Efrain
Estrella, Stephen Amber (Hammond Island Ranger, Torres Strait),
Alfredo Lopez, Frank Loban (NAILSMA Dugong and Marine Turtle
Project Officer, Torres Strait Regional Authority) and Amalia
Astorga. Photo by Kenny Bedford.
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A week-long international celebration of Indigenous
cultural practices and management of marine turtle concluded last
weekend in Mexico, but the experience gained by four Indigenous
land and sea managers from the Torres Strait and North-East Arnhem
Land will last a lifetime.
The small seaside town of Loreto, on the Mexican Baja California
Peninsula, hosted this year's Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and
Conservation. Over 1000 scientists, conservationists and Indigenous
land and sea managers from 60 nations converged on the town to
explore the theme, "Native Oceans".
The delegation from Australia was sent to Mexico through a
partnership between the North Australian Land and Sea Management
Alliance (NAILSMA), the Torres Strait Regional Authority, Dhimurru
Land Management Aboriginal Corporation, James Cook University and
the United States organisation, Ocean Revolution. The delegate's
attendance was made possible through travel funding provided by
James Cook University and The Christensen Fund.
NAILSMA's Executive Officer, Mr Joe Morrison said the exchange
linked Indigenous people from Australia's northern coastal regions
with the Seri Indians of Mexico and facilitated the exchange of
both cultural and technical information of marine turtle
species.
The Torres Strait Regional Authority’s (TSRA) Chairperson
Mr Toshie Kris, said he was pleased that three representatives from
the Torres Strait, including the TSRA’s Dugong and Marine
Turtle Project Liaison Officer and JCU Masters student Mr Frank
Loban, participated in the international event.
“Such opportunities are invaluable and with the marine
turtle playing a critical role in the Torres Strait’s culture
and way of life, it is important that our people learn how to
sustainabably manage this importance species,” said Mr
Kris.
Mr Loban said the opportunity to travel to Mexico for the
Symposium was an extremely important learning experience.
"The highlight was the coming together of Indigenous people from
across the world, sharing ideas and knowledge about turtle
conservation and why it is significant to our lifestyles and
livelihoods.
"Indigenous people from places like Mexico and Venezuela have
been involved in turtle conservation for a long time and we can
learn from their experiences," he said.
Mr Loban explained that the management of Turtle and Dugong by
Indigenous people was critical.
"Turtles are species that are harvested by Indigenous peoples
for subsistence, medicinal and cultural purposes, so it is
important that the primary custodians using the resource are
involved in conserving it.
"We don't want to be talking to our children about turtles from
a book, we want to make sure we can continue harvesting and
managing them and that future generations will get a chance to see
a real, live turtle", said Mr Loban.
A major aspect of the Dugong and Marine Turtle Project, which is
driven by Traditional Owners, is to build networks amongst
Saltwater People that are linked to governments and the scientific
community. The exchange extends this network internationally and
will be reciprocated next year when the Seri people travel to
Australia for the 2009 Symposium to be held in Brisbane.
Contacts:
NAILSMA Media Contact: Joshua Kitchens, telephone (08) 8946
6684
TSRA Media Contact: Susan Reilly, telephone (07) 4069 0700
JCU Media Contact: Mark Hamann, telephone (07) 4781 4491
