Yayasan Pulau Banyak
 Indonesia  |  Animals/Wildlife

Yayasan Pulau Banyak wishes: To promote local participation in enhancing conservation efforts through community capacity building and socio-economic activities in order to sustain ably manage and monitor the natural resources of Pulau Banyak in the Aceh Singkil region, Northern Sumatra, Indonesia.

Yayasan Pulau Banyak, a local non governmental organisation, started its activities in Pulau Banyak in 1994, when Mahmud Bangkaru visited the area and motivated the local community to start up conservation activities for sea turtles in Pulau Bangkaru, the main nesting site. With the first funding it was possible to protect the nesting beach from egg poaching and raise considerable awareness in the area regarding environmental issues. The programme integrated with a socio-economic programme and provided alternative income for the communities through small scale tourism. Unfortunately, with civil war in the Aceh region, the programme had to be put to a halt and its last activities stopped in 2001: Egg poaching and trading returned in Pulau Banyak and community members reported that 10.000 turtle eggs were being collected per month for supplying markets based out of Sibolga. Although all turtle species are protected, there still exists trading in sea turtle products throughout Indonesia. In 2006, Maggie Muurmans, a Dutch sea turtle expert, took an interest in the nesting population of Pulau Banyak. Together with Mahmud Bangkaru, they revived Yayasan Pulau Banyak and with backing and financial support from new partners, the sea turtle monitoring programme on Pulau Bangkaru was set up once again. All staff, which runs the operations on a local level, is either from the archipelago or Acehnese. Some very prominent political leaders are member of the board of founders, which is advantageous in many of the activities.

Sea turtle conservation

GIS mapping and zonification

Environmental education programmes

Community programmes

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