Brunei Brunei Darussalam is a member of CITIES (Convention for International Trade of Endangered Species) since 2 nd August 1990 and therefore sea turtle are protected under CITIES for the protection of turtles. Wildlife protection act, 1978 (revised 1984) is under jurisdiction of Museum Department to provide protection of wildlife and for the establishment of wildlife sanctuaries.

The Department of Fisheries has also provision for the protection of sea turtles under the Fisheries Act 1973, regulate the catching or killing of turtles and their eggs. Both departments have provisions in their enactment to protect turtles.

Conservation and Management Details

Cambodia In recently year, the Department of Fisheries has no law and regulations for protecting and conserving this endangered species of wild fauna. In the near future a fishery act will be annexed to include this species in the conservation.

Conservation and Management Details

Indonesia In Indonesia the management of sea turtles is administered by Directorate General of Forest Protection and Conservation, Ministry of Forestry. Legal instruments in Indonesia that provide for the conservation and protection of marine turtles include:

- The Indonesian Constitution of 1945; article 33, all of the resources must be used as the greatest for humankind prosperity of the Indonesian.

- Act no. 5 of 1967; basic provision on forestry included conservation area management for marine turtle habitat.

- Act no. 4 of 1982, basic provision for the management for living resources environment.

- Act no. 9 of 1985, chapter 1 article 2 provides that fishery resources consist of all kinds of fish, including other aquatic biota such as turtles,dophins, seaweed's, corals etc. Chapter 1 article 4 provides that the utilization of fishery resources means fishing and cultivating.

Chapter 8 article 1 provides that for the sake of science, culture or conservation of aquatic nature, the government has established that certain kinds of fish and/or certain aquatic locations are protected as aquatic wildlife reserves becuase of the specific conditions of the aquatic areas.

- Act no. 5 of 1990, Conservation of Living resources and their ecosystems; the act regulates; the management of wildlife and endangered species, the establishment of marine conservation areas, the utilization and cultivation of wildlife (including turtles), the monitoring and supervision of their utilization and conservation as well.

- Goverment Regulation of the Republic of Indonesia no. 7/1999 concerning flora fauna preservation.

All of six marine turtle species occurring in Indonesia are in the list of endangered species, this include green turtle (Chelonia mydas).

- Government Regulation of the Republic of Indonesia no. 8/1999 concerning the utilization of flora&fauna. The utilization of hawksbill turtle can be done on the second generation of ranching production as commodity.

Conservation and Management Details

Malaysia According to the Malaysian Constitution, turtles are the property the 13 individual states. At national the Fisheries Act of 1985 repealed the Fisheries Act of 1963. The major contributions of the act are in providing for the objectives of conservation, management and development of marine resources. It also provides a comprehensive basic framework for subsidiary legislation to be enacted for the conservation and management of sea turtles, including the establishment of sanctuary or other fishing prohibited areas. In Peninsular Malaysia, marine turtle protection legislation have been enacted in six states;

I) the Turtles and Turtle's Eggs of 1932 (Amended 1935, Enactment No. 8), Kelantan,

II) the Fisheries Enactment (1937) and Fisheries Rules (1937), Pahang,

III)the Turtle Enactment of 1951 (Amended 1987), Terengganu,

IV) the Fisheries rules (Turtles and Turtle's 1976), Negeri Sembilan

V) the Fisheries Rules (Turtles and Turtle's Eggs, 1984), Johor, and

VI) the Fisheries Rules (Turtles and Turtle's Eggs, 1989). Malacca.

The legislation prohibit the capture, killing injuring, procession or sale of Turtles, collection of eggs, disturbing turtle during laying eggs and the provision for establishment of a turtle sanctuary. Protective and conservative legislation in Sarawak, include the Turtle Trust Ordinance (1957), the Turtle Rules (1962), and the wildlife protection Ordinance of 1958 (Amended 1973). The Customs (Prohibition of Exports/Import) Orders of 1988 specifically to ban the exports andimports of turtle eggs to and from all countries.

In Sabah, the Fauna Conservation Ordinance 1963 (Act No. 11) partially protects the Chelonids turtles and prohibits national and international trade of sea turtles. The Fauna Conservation (Turtle Farms) Regulations 1964 regulates the taking of green and hawksbill turtle eggs for hatchery purposes. The import and export of turtles or its products is prohibited by Customs (Prohibition of Imports) and (Prohibition of Exports)(Amendment) Order 1971. Turtles and protected in Sabah Turtle Island Park, establish in 1977.

Malaysia became a party to CITES effective 19 January 1978, hence the import and export of sea turtles, their products and parts are strictly prohibited. Trade of sea turtles is also prohibited under the customs Order as have been mentioned earlier.

Conservation and Management Details

Myanmar Sea turtle conservation started in Myanmar a long time ago. In the previous Fisheries act (Burma act 111,1905) there are paragraphs mentioned to give protection to sea turtles, their eggs and the beaches where they live. Then with the Fishery Department Notification No. 1, protection was extended to sea turtles withing 3 miles off the coast. The Fisheries act promulgated more than 80 years ago was replaced with the Fresh Water Fisheries Law and the Myanmar Marine Fisheries Law. These new laws include clauses and articles for the protection of sea turtles, their habitat and the beaches where they live.

Conservation and Management Details

In the Philippines, Act No. 2590, An Act for the Protection of Game and Fish (1919, as amended) is the principal legislation for wildlife protection. Memorandum order No.6 Series of 1982 (29 April 1982) declared a total ban on the exploitation of sea turtles. However, exception for a limited egg harvest in the Province of Tawi-Tawi is provides for MNF Administrative Order No. 33, Series of 1982. Harvest is allowed only with permit and under condition of 30% of all eggs laid shall be reserved for preservation purposes. The protection of marine turtles was officially implemented in 1979 with the issuance of Executive Order 542 creating Task Force Pawikan (TFP) and then was inaugurated by the government to save the dwindling marine turtle populations (Dickson,1996). The following are relevant rules and regulations pertaining to marine turtle conservations:

- Executive Order No. 542 (June 26,1979) creating the Task Force Pawikan

- MNR Administrative Order No. 12 (Nov. 15, 1979), regulations concerning the conservation of marine turtles in the Philippines. Included in this A.O. are provisions prohibiting the trade of marine turtles or any of its by-products and their corresponding penalities

MNR Memorandum Order No. 6 (April 29, 1982) suspending permits on marine turtle exploitation

- MNR Administrative Order No. 34 (June 21, 1982) declaring the Municipality of Caluya, Antique as a marine sanctuary

- MNR Administrative Order No. 33 (August 11, 1982) Regulating the collection of marine turtle eggs in the province of Tawi-Tawi and reiterating the duties and responsibilities of Deputy Conservation Officers and Deputy Game Wardens

- MNR Administrative Order No. 1 (January 21, 1983) Deputizing the provincial Governors and Vice-Governors, municipal Mayors, Vice-Mayors and Barangay Captains as Conservation Officers in areas for the protection of marine turtles throughout the Philippines

- MNR Administrative Order No. 518 (December 10, 1984) declaring El Nido, Bacuit Bay in northwestern Palawan as marine turtle sanctuary and promulgating rules for their administration and control The Republic of Philippines acceded to CITES effective 16 November 1991.

Conservation and Management Details

Singapore There is no information on recent and specific legislation for the protection of marine turtles. Lim, (1996) had briefly reported on the legal aspect covering sea turtle interests.

Thailand The law for the protection of turtles has been existed in Thailand since 1947. There are three pieces of legislation concerning turtle protection. They include:

(1) Fisheries Act, B.E. 2490 (1947)

(2) Export and import Act, B.E. 2522 (1979)

(3) Wildlife Reservation and Protection Act, B.E. 2535 (1992)

(1) Fisheries Act, B.E. 2490

Fisheries Act, B.E. 2490 has been drawn up in 1947 before the development of marine fisheries in Thailand, the Act has been revised some provisions twice in 1953 and 1984. Under this Act, all turtle species shall be protected by the provision of section 32 Which states that:

"Section 32 The Minister or Provincial Governor in his jurisdiction and with the approval of the Minister, is empowered to make notification determining

(1) the size of mesh and dimension of any fishing implement, and size, kind, number and parts of fishing implement, which is permitted in fisheries;

(2) any kind of fishing implement which is absolutely forbidden to be used in fisheries;

(3) the distance between each stationary gear;

(4) the methods of using any fishing implement;

(5) the spawning and breeding season, fishing implement; and methods of fishing in any fisheries during the given seasons;

(6) the species, size and maximum number of aquatic animals the fishing of which is permissible;

(7) certain species of aquatic animals the fishing of which is absolutely forbidden."

The minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives or the Provincial Governor within his jurisdiction subject to the approval of the Minister is empowered to impose any fishery regulation in accordance with this provision by proclaiming the ministerial Notification. For protection of turtles, there is the Ministerial Notification issued in 1947. The content of such notification is summarized as follow:

"By the power of Section 32 (7) of the Fisheries Act, B.E. 2490, the minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives has proclaimed that

(1) No person shall catch, take, trap, lure, injure, or kill any sea turtle.

If sea turtle has been trapped by any fishing implement, such sea turtle shall be released into the sea promptly.

(2) No person shall take or damage the eggs of any sea turtle, unless otherwise the permission from the competent authority has been granted.

This notification shall come into force on April 14,B.E. 2490 (1947).

Given on April 14, B.E. 2490 (1947).

(Signed) Charoom Saubsaeng

Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives"

The violation of notification shall be penalized by the power of Section 65 of the Fisheries Act, B.E.2490 (1947) which states that:

"Section 65 Whoever violates the notification of the Minister or the provincial Governor issued in persuance of Section 32 shall be punished with fine from 5,000-10,000 baht, or imprisonment not exceeding 1 year, or both"

In order to control the import and export of turtles and their products, Section 54 of the Fisheries Act, B.E. 2490 states that:

"Section 54 No person shall, without permission for the competent official, bring into the Kingdom such kind of aquatic animals as specified by a Royal Decree."

In 1993, the Department of Fisheries proclaimed a Royal Decree (No.2), B.E. 2536 under Section 54 of the Fisheries Act, B.E. 2490. The Royal Decree proclaimed the list of all turtle species to prohibited for importing to Thailand. The list of Turtle species in the Royal Decree includes all turtle species listed in the CITES appendices.

However, the provision of Section 54 controls only the importation of aquatic animals. It does not control the exportation of aquatic animals from Thailand. Therefore, there is a loophole for controlling the exportation of aquatic animals by the power of the Fisheries Act, B.E. 2490. In order to solve this problem, the Department of Fisheries requested the Ministry of Commerce to use its law -the Export and Import Act, B.E. 2522- to control exportation of all aquatic animals listed in the CITES appendices including turtles and their products.

(2) Export and Import Act, B.E. 2522 (1979)

This Act is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Commerce with the purposes for controling the import and export of goods. Section 5 of the Export and Import Act, B.E. 2522 divides goods into many categories. However, turtles and their products are categorized as goods, which require permission for export and import. All marine turtles found in Thai waters are listed as goods, which require permission for exporting.

The Ministry of Commerce which proclaimed the Ministerial notification in 1980 laid down the list of turtles and their products which require permission before exporting.

Example of turtle species in the notification includes:

Eretmochelys imbricata

Chelonia mydas

Caretta caretta

Platysternum megacephalum

Dermochelys coriacea

Testudo emys

Lepidochelys olivacea

(3) Wildlife Reservation and Protection Act, B.E. 2535 (1992)

This Act was enacted in 1992. It is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Fisheries (DOF) and the Royal Forestry Department (RFD). The Act empowers the Department of Fisheries to be responsible for aquatic animals and the Royal Forestry Department to be responsible for terrestrial animals as specified in Section 4.

"Section 4 In this Act:

"Director-general" means the Director-General of Royal Forestry Department for terristerial animals, and the Director-General of Fisheries Department for aquatic animals."

Under this Act, there are two lists of animals (1) List of Reserved Species, and (2) List of Protected Species. The list of Reserved Species shall be done by Royal Decree. The list of Protected Species shall be done by Ministerial Notification which is specified in Section 6.

"Section 6 The assignment of any particular kind of animals into the list of Protected Species shall be done only through the formal proclamation of Ministerial Notification which the consent of the Committee."

In 1994, there has been the proclamation of Ministerial Notification specified wild animals in the list of Protected Species. Within this list, there are numerous species of turtles and tortoises being listed. The Department of Fisheries is responsible for the turtles in this as follows:

Turtles

1. Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata)

2. Southern Salt-Water Terrapin (Batagur baska)

3. Batagur (Batagur gaska ranongensis)

4. Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas)

5. Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta)

6. Malayan Snail-Eating Terrapin (Malayemys subtrijuga)

7. Leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)

8. Painted Batagur Terrapin (Callagur borneoensis)

9. Brown Giant Tortoise (Manouria emys)

10. Ridley Turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea)

Soft-Shelled Turtle

1. Common Slarmese Soft-Shelled Turtle (Amyda cartilaginea)

2. Red-Cheeked Soft-Shelled Turtle (Dogania subplana)

3. Yellow-Spotted Soft-Shelled Turtle (Amyda cartilaginea nakornsritamaratensis)

4. Burmese Soft-Shelled Turtle (Nissonia formosa)

5. Kanburien Giant Soft-Shelled Turtle (Chitra chitra)

6. Blunt-Headed Giant Soft-Shelled Turtle (Pelochelys bubroni)

In accordance with this Act, any species included in the List of Protected Species shall be protected from hunting, breeding, possessing, trading, exporting and importing. The provisions related to these activities are described as follows.

"Section 16 No person shall hunt or attempt to hunt wild animals listed in the lists of Reserved Species and Protected Species except the act is part of official activities which are exempted by the provision of Section 26."

"Section 18 No person shall undertake breeding activities of species listed in the list of Reserved Species and Protected Species Unless ................"

"Section 19 No person shall be in possession of reserved wild animals, protected wild animals, or carcass of protected wild animals, except the protected wild animals in Section 17 categorized as species breed in captivity and carcass thereof, in which case the possessor is required to have a license from the Director-General and to observe the rules set by the Ministerial Notification and conditions prescribed in the license ......................."

"Section 20 No person shall engage in trading of reserved wild animals, protected wild animals, carcass of reserved and protected wild animals, and products thereof, except that of protected wild animals specified in Section 17 which were obtained from breeding in captivity, carcass and products thereof, in which case permission by the Director-General is a prerequisite ..........."

"Section 21 No person shall collect, harm or keep in possession of the nests of reserved and protected wild animals." "Section 23 Subject to the provision of Section 24, no person shall engage in the importation, exportation and transitory movement of wild animals or carcass thereof appearing on the prohibition list of the Minister without permission from the Director-General ...................................."

"Section 24 The importation, exportation and transitory movement of wild animals and carcass thereof, which require accompanying permit in accordance with the International Convention on International Trade in wild animals and carcass thereof, are permissible only with permission by the Director-General ..............................."

Section 23 and Section 24 are the provisions applied to the implementation of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). Therefore, the provisions of this Act protect all activities which will affect the survival of wild animals in Thailand. The penalty of this Act is described as follows. "Section 47 Violators of Section 16, Section 19, Section 20 Clause 1 or Section 23 Clause 1 shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding four years or fined not exceeding forty-thousand baht, or both"

"Section 48 Violators of Section 18 and Section 23 Caluse 2, and persons neglecting to observe Section 29 shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding three years or fined not exceeding thirty-thousand baht, or both"

It can be concluded that the Wildlife Reservation and Protection Act, B.E. 2535 contains the most effective legal instrument for turtle protection in Thailand From now on, the Department of Fisheries will use the power of this Act to protect all aquatic animals found in Thai waters in addition to the Fisheries Act, B.E. 2490.

Conservation and Management Details

Vietnam There are not any special enactments, regulations on pertaining to marine turtles in Vietnam. However, the following legal documents issued by the Government of Vietnam relating to the Fisheries resources protection and development (including marine turtles) can be listed:

-Orinance dated 25 April 1989 on Protection and development of Fisheries resources, which stipulated that:

" Prohibit any actions causing harmful affects on resources, habitats of aquatic living resources "(Chapter I, Article 5); "Exploitation and commerce of living aquatic resources of high economic value being rare, threatened or endangered should be banned" (Chapter II, Article 12).

-Enactment No 195 - HDBT (Council of Ministers) dated 2 June 1990 guiding on execution of the Ordinance dated 25/April/1989.

-Decision No 130-CP dated 20 April 1991 on Establishment of the Fisheries Protection Department under Ministry of Fisheries.

-National Law on Environment Protection issued in 1993.

-Provisions N 415/TTg dated 20 August 1994 of Prime-minister promulgating the statute on the organization and activities of State Inspectors in the field of protection of fisheries resources.

The Ministry of Fisheries of Vietnam has issued other relating documents, namely:

-Circular No 04-TS/TT dated 40 August 1990 guiding execution of Ordinance on protection and development of the fisheries resources.

-Circular No04-TS/TT dated 21 November 1994 guiding the execution of Enactment No 85-CP on administrative punishment in fisheries resources protection.

-Decision 682 TS/QD dated 11 September 1993 enacting the provisions on marine resources exploitation and management in key fishing grounds.

The Ordinance dated 25 April 1989 stipulates that "The Government of Vietnam welcomes and ready to cooperate closely with any foreign countries and international organizations in protecting, conserving fisheries resources, their habitats and other shared aquatic living resources."

Conservation and Management Details