2nd Mediterranean Sea Turtle Conference:
"Talking Turtles"! (Medasset, 1987
Laureate)

The 2nd Mediterranean Conference on Sea Turtles, 4-7 May 2005 in Kemer, Turkey, was supported and largely funded by the Barcelona, Bonn and Bern Conventions. The Turkish Ministry of the Environment and Forestry hosted the event. WWF Turkey helped organize the Conference.

Governmental, inter- and non-governmental organizations, biologists, conservationists and all-important volunteers attended. This important meeting brought together 177 participants from 16 Mediterranean countries, including eleven participants from MEDASSET.

The forum allowed a critical exchange of data and made possible vitally needed collaboration and networking in the fight to save the Mediterranean sea turtles. The myriad of difficulties and some successes experienced by local and international initiatives were discussed.

Among the many new and informative presentations and workshops two key topics were of particular interest: Tagging Standardization, organized by RAC/SPA (UNEP/MAP) and the Regional Red Listing Assessment, organized by the IUCN's MTSG.

MEDASSET presented five co-authored papers: "Environmental Awareness and Education Keys to Conservation"; "A Review of Sea Turtle Conservation in Turkey"; "Marine Turtle Nesting in El Mansouri, South Lebanon"; "Aspects of Intra-Community Diversity in Sea Turtle Conservation"; and organised a Workshop on "Turtle Education for Tourists-Identifying Best Practice."

It was announced that the next Mediterranean Conference would be held in Spring 2008, in Tunisia. In the meantime the 26th International Mediterranean Sea Turtle Symposium will be held in Crete, Greece, April 4-8, 2006. The Mediterranean countries will have a pre symposium regional meeting on April 3-4, 2006, at the same venue.

MEDASSET
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MEDASSET-Mediterranean Association to Save the Sea Turtles
1c Licavitou St., 106 72 Athens, GREECE
Tel.: + 30 210 3613572, + 30 210 3640389, Fax: + 30 210 3613572
E-mail: medasset@medasset.gr
www.euroturtle.org
www.medasset.org
www.medasset.gr
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As long as man continues to be the ruthless destroyer of lower living beings, he will never know health or peace. For as long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other. (Pythagoras: 582-500 BC)