| Honduras and Mexico sign Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles
|
12/30/98: The Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA) reports that just two days before the December 31, 1998 deadline, Honduras and Mexico became the ninth and tenth signatories of the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles, the first treaty dedicated entirely to these species. In a last-minute rush, Honduras and Mexico joined Belize, Brazil, Costa Rica , the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Peru, the United States and Venezuela as signatories of the treaty.
"This is great news," said Jack Frazier, a renowned sea turtle biologist currently with the Smithsonian Institution. "There has been a tremendous international effort to support the Convention, with a lot of hard work by many organizations throughout the hemisphere. This goes to show that countries with different economic, environmental, and cultural realities can work together for the common good, on this ever-shrinking planet."
Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, and Guatemala are also considering signing before the deadline. So far, Venezuela has ratified and the process is advanced in Brazil and Costa Rica. When ratified by eight countries, the treaty will enter into force and will unite the hemisphere in shared standards for marine turtle protection and management. All six species of sea turtles found in the western hemisphere are considered in danger of extinction.
Background information and text of the treaty are available online at http://www.seaturtle.org/iac
|
