"Turtle Monitoring in Vanuatu" a Vanuatu Travel Page by Weener

I like Vanuatu! Being my first time in the Pacific region, I had nothing to compare to, but Vanuatu is not like any other country I have been to so far.

I went to Vanuatu to visit a turtle monintoring project that is taking place throughout the archipelago, and is now venturing to other countries of the pacific region. (details below)

Ni-Vans (the people of Vanuau) are relatively shy people, but not so much once you get to know them.

Vanuatu is surrounded by green forests, volcanos, and relatively untouched coral seas.

Right now, Vanuatu is extremely safe, thus attracting a lot of tourists, particularly from New Zealand and Australia (being such a short distance away)

I would recommend venturing out of Port Vila as there is so much more to Vanuatu than just the capital. If you have time, not that I did, I have heard nothing but great stories from some of the other islands such as Santo and Tanna.

There are a couple of drawbacks to Vanuatu, firstly not being a cheap holiday distination due to so much commodities being imported. Secondly the expense of visiting the other islands. Smaller islands near to Efate can be reached by boat, but the larger islands of Tanna and Santos as an example, can only be reached by plane. Only one airline flies between the islands, Air Vanuatu.

To get a return flight from Efate to Tanna including one night accommodation would have set me back close to AUS$300 (at time of writing)

Sea turtles are endangered everywhere in the world and getting rural fishers to consider not killing them or people from raiding their nesting sites is a complex and difficult issue. In most Pacific islands, there is no enforcement of fisheries regulations or laws - even where these exist. Many people in Vanuatu did not fully understand the plight of the turtles or why they were endangered. In 1995, during the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme's Year of the Sea Turtle, Wan Smolbag Theatre (local NGO) performed a special sea turtle play in communities around Efate. The troupe came up with the idea of having village based turtle monitors who would report on the numbers of turtles coming ashore to lay eggs and help with an ongoing campaign to help the sea turtles recover. These monitors went on to develop their own organisation that is now funded by SPREP. They meet for workshops and visit other islands to talk to villagers about their work and encourage turtle conservation. They also teach outer island turtle monitors to tag turtles. The network is now mobilizing around other coastal issues such as over-harvesting of beche-de-mer and unsustainable logging. Today, Vanuatu is one of the leading Pacific nations in turtle conservation thanks to the widespread community support and the continued information on turtle numbers and movement from the village turtle monitors.

TV News on the project:

http://www.tv3.co.nz/News/NewsDisplay/tabid/209/articleID/19279/Default.aspx