Food for thought...

By Bernadette Hussein

Four turtles lay slowly dying on the beach under a scorching sun with

the only shade inadequately provid

ed by a few mangrove trees.

The four were the few not served to delegates to the 27th South Pacific Forum in Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands, held early last month, at a dinner hosted by Marshallese President Amata Kabua.

The turtles lay helplessly on their backs - still except for the feeble and occasional lifting of a head or flap of a flipper and the trickle of tears running from the eyes - as Forum delegates patted themselves on their backs, recounting the success of the Year of the Sea Turtle cam paign, and dined on turtle meat.

It was never verified how many turtles were slaughtered for the meal but they were perhaps the ‘lucky’ ones, meeting with their deaths, one presumes, faster than the four abandoned to an uncertain fate on the beach.

Animal rights and conservation efforts aside, the event, if nothing else, placed a dark shroud of doubt over the sincerity and commitment of the Forum to its reso lutions. In its communique, the Forum proudly “noted the successful outcomes of the Year of the Sea turtle campaign and

acknowledged the importance of building

on existing regional awareness and good

will”

“Forum members resolved to continue their support for the Regional Marine Turtle Conservation Programme and to

examine further ways of working together to enhance conservation efforts,” the com

munique continued.

Even to the most naive of observers, the sight of the four turtles could not have served as an example in effective conser vation.

And though the Forum Secretariat in Suva, Fiji, wouldn’t officially comment on the situation, judging by remarks passed in Majuro, it was evident the mat ter was not treated with any amount of seriousness.

“Well, they are only turtles - whether they die or not, why raise so much con cern. There were people in Sarajevo who were dying but no one did anything.”

“That (conservation) is part of the South Pacific Regional Programme (SPREP)” - which is a part of the South Pacific Forum.

While the gravity of the Sarajevo situ ation is not being disputed, what the Pacific has been questioning is the appar

ent hypocrisy of preaching the importance

of conservation while practising the oppo site.

Of concern perhaps is not so much the fact that turtles were caught for food but that apparently more than necessary were caught and left to lie on a beach in

Majuro.

The question that this poses is: “How sincere is the Forum in its rhetoric?” ■

The four turtles left on the beach in Majuro Picture: Bernadette Hussein