South-East Asia

Global Dugong Genetics Project

The Global Dugong Genetics Project aims to examine the phylogeography of the dugong based on historical samples from throughout the dugong’s range. It will update conservation and management actions through mapping the distribution of discrete dugong populations; identifying historical and potential migratory routes; and highlighting small populations as a priority for conservation. The Project was a collaboration between James Cook University and Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.

04 May 2021

GEF Dugong and Seagrass Conservation Project

The GEF-5 Project represents a major international collaboration. It is unique in being the first coordinated approach to enhance the effectiveness of conservation of dugongs and their seagrass ecosystems through community-based stewardship, incentive-based conservation, removal of knowledge barriers and national and regional mainstreaming activities. The project covers 38 national projects, managed in collaboration with 26 local partners in Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mozambique, Sri Lanka, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste and Vanuatu.

04 May 2021

Dugong and Seagrass Research Toolkit

The Dugong and Seagrass Research Toolkit is an initiative by TOTAL, Total Abu Al Bukhoosh, Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi and CMS Dugong MOU to provide an easily accessible online resource that incorporates decision-making for the selection of the most appropriate methodologies for studies of dugongs, seagrasses and the associated human communities.

16 July 2018

Public Awareness Program and Development of Education Toolkit for Green Sea Turtle Conservation in Sarawak, Malaysia

Nobody knows exactly what happened during "the lost years" of the turtles in the wild, thus a green turtle headstarting project was carried out at Pantai Pandan, Lundu, Sarawak, Malaysia from June 2014 until December 2015 to shed some lights on the growth of hatchlings during a small part of their "lost years". As a consequent, opportunity of small scale awareness campaigns on sea turtle conservation arises during this project. Activities include talk related to green turtles conservation, hands on experience on turtle-human interaction (supervised), and documentation via videography.

14 September 2018

Marine Macrophytes and Plastics Consumed by Green Turtles (Chelonia mydas) in Hong Kong, South China Sea Region

This is the first identification of marine macrophytes consumed by green turtles in Hong Kong, South China Sea: 6 red algae species (Pterocladiella tenuis, Gelidium pusillum, Chondrus ocellatus, Gracilaria chorda, Grateloupia filicina, and Amansia glomerata), 1 brown alga species (Lobophora variegata), and 1 sea grass (Halophila ovalis) were identified. Plastics and other foreign materials were also found in the stomach contents of 2 of the 8 individuals sampled.

14 September 2018

Spatio-Temporal Patterns of Mitochondrial DNA Variation in Hawksbill Turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) in Southeast Asia.

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) polymorphisms provide useful information that can be used to estimate the phylogeographic relationships, historical demography, and migratory events of widely distributed animals. In this study, the spatio-temporal patterns of mtDNA polymorphisms were assessed in Indo-Pacific hawksbill turtles from Malaysian nesting rookeries and foraging aggregations sampled during 1996–2014.

14 September 2018

Study: Conservation Priorities for Shark and Ray Species included and proposed for inclusion in Annex 1 to the CMS Sharks MOU

The Sharks MOU has defined general objectives for the conservation and management of species and populations listed in Annex 1 of the MOU, which are further detailed in a global Conservation Plan for migratory Sharks (Annex 3 to the MOU).
18 October 2015

CMS Dugong MOU Standardised Catch and Bycatch Questionnaire

The Dugong MOU Secretariat provided funding to enable a partnership with the Marine Research Foundation and a team of global experts to develop and implement a Questionnaire which could be implemented at low cost across large geographical areas, and that generates standardised data sets. The Questionnaire was designed to collect data on dugongs, as well as marine turtles and cetaceans, and has resulted in a large data set of dugong numbers and distribution across a significant portion of the dugong’s geographic range.

10 March 2021