The 12th Annual symposium on the Conservation and Biology of Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles was held in Orlando lat August with 268 participants from 18 different countries.The event, sponsored by Zoo Med Laboratories brought together some of the leading turtle experts in the world. The Piku Project was represented by Carla Eisemberg and Arthur Georges. Carla Eisemberg presented a poster on Using Biological and Social Data to Identify Priority Areas for Conservation of Piku in PNG. Her spatial analysis identified seven priority areas within the Kikori lowlands. Two of these are quite substantial, on the coast at Turuvio Island, and upstream in the Serebi river area. This will assist local communities and authorities in setting priorities for protected areas, taking into account the dynamic nature of the environment in the Kikori. Arthur Georges gave the keynote address on exploits in Papua New Guinea, first introducing the island and its dynamic and recent orogenesis, its special place in the region as a conduit between south east Asia and the Australian region, as a magnifier of diversity as it invades, as a museum of biodiversity in the face of the aridification of the Australian continent, and as a cradle, generating new diversity that subsequently invades northern Australia. He then covered his experiences in the Transfly, and finished with the recent work undertaken in the Kikori on Piku . Arthurs main point was that the biggest challenge is learning how to achieve enduring change in support of conservation that goes beyond short term projects. The photo taken on the Swanee River shows that we have little in the way of dangers from turtles in the Kikori, by comparison!! It is just the crocodiles.... and the stingrays ..... and the .....
Posted on: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 07:12:25 +0000