Reducing threats to turtles.

Abstract

Around the world, the survival of seven species of sea turtle is threatened by a variety of man-induced factors, including the direct and indirect harvest of adults and juveniles (see Oravetz, this volume), threats to eggs and hatchlings (see Boulon, this volume; Mortimer, this volume), the degradation or loss of nesting habitat (see Witherington, this volume), and pollution of the seas (see Gibson and Smith, this vol ume). Perhaps no threat is as pervasive and devastating to declining populations as the persistent take of adult and juvenile turtles. The take continues, often in contravention of existing national and international legislation, largely because of familiar and ineffective "top-down" approaches to conservation, and a lack of grassroots support for or understanding of conservation initiatives. In response, conservation organizations and regulatory agencies alike are investing heavily in community-based conservation (see Frazier, this volume). Community-based conservation involves changing habits and outlooks, neither of which happens easily.