Reviews 
Marine Turtles - Turkey. Status survey 1988 and recommendations for 
conservation and management. By Ibrahim Baran and Max Kasparek, 
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). May 1989. In English. Available 
from Max Kasparek, Bleich Str. 1, 6900 Heidelberg, West Germany. Price 
DM 45. Separate summary and recommendations in English and Turk- 
ish also available. 
During the summer of 1988, some 2,500 km of Aegan and Mediterranean cx)ast 
were surveyed for nesting sea turtles. Virtually every beach between Kusadasi 
and the Syrian border was visited (over 600 km of beach). Of these, about a 
quarter had significant populations of nesting Loggerhead Caretta caretta (nest- 
ing throughout the range from Dalyan in the west) or Green Turtles, Chdonia 
my das (foimd on three beaches east of the Goksii Delta). The report identifies 13 
major nesting beaches in Turkey and a further four important beaches. Turkey 
holds by far the largest known populations of both species in the Mediterranean, 
and therefore has great responsibility for their conservation. 
This is a most valuable report for everyone interested in the wildlife and 
conservation of Turkey's Aegean and Mediterranean beaches. The annex to the 
report (some 80 pages) includes a description, land use, pollution and protection 
status and the use by turtles and other wildlife (including birds) of every beach 
between Kusadasi and the Syrian border. The report itself (34 pages including 
references) outlines the biology of marine turtles and the natural and human 
factors affecting their distribution in the eastern Mediterranean. It provides 
convincing evidence that while hunting may have been an important factor in 
their decline (and that both species should be given full protection including a 
ban on the sale of shells) the main threat now comes from uncontrolled holiday 
developments on their nesting beaches. Industrial and sewage pollution are also 
major threats in certain areas, as is sand extraction (for the new holiday houses) 
and shrimp trawling east of the Goksii delta. The report makes it clear that there 
is room for development cdongside conservation, but that this requires careful 
planning, adequate resources and, most importantly, full consultation with local 
people whose co-operation is essential for successful conservation. 
In 1988, Turkey established three Special Protection Areas under the Barcelona 
Convention on the protection of the Mediterranean and two of these protect 
important turtle beaches. The report is the result of a survey supported by the 
Turkish government imder the Berne Convention which includes sea turtles as 
specially protected animals. International agreements thus have a role in ensur- 
ing conservation at a local level. 
My main criticism of the report is of its price. Not only is it important that the 
message of the report gets through to every user of Turkey's beaches (including 
foreign tourists), but it is also a very useful resource for education in Turkey and 
throughout Europe. More careful thought to the value of education in conserva- 
tion might have allowed a greater educational input, a larger print run and 
extensive sales through WWF's educational and general information book sales. 
This could have reduced the price to something more realistic for the average 
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