Reduced turtle populations shine the spotlight on the inadequate protection China’s nature reserves receive against poachers, ScienceMag.org reported.
In a 12-year study published in the March 6 issue of Current Biology, it was stated that China has more nature reserves than most countries, with 2,700 reserves occupying approximately 1.46 million square kilometers or roughly 15 percent of the national territory.
Despite this, 43 percent of the species that make these lands their habitat are threatened, the study revealed.
“We discovered that poaching occurred in all of the 56 reserves surveyed, resulting in dramatically reduced turtle populations. In a majority of the reserves, the reserve staff themselves were generally involved in poaching,” the report read.
“Although nature reserves were created to protect plants and animals, they have become part of the problem due to weak enforcement of rules.”
The scientists behind the study used various resources, including interviews, surveys of exotic animal markets, and field studies to accurately document the continuous decline of turtle populations in protected areas in three provinces.
“Hunting is strictly forbidden in all nature reserves in China,” the study read.
“From field surveys, however, we found over 1400 poaching devices (i.e. cage traps, hooks, pitfall traps) and encountered 69 hunters in 11 nature reserves. This unexpected finding reflected the managers’ inaction. Although historical records identified 15 species present in these areas, we just found nine species in the field.”
What the study found out about turtle population trends reflects the poor situation of wildlife conservation areas in China.
“This situation is not unique to turtles, as we saw signs of poaching for all species valuable for food and trade. Currently, in China, endangered species are facing a serious threat of extirpation due to poaching, and we identify nature reserves as contributing to the problem due to poor management practices and lack of effective supervision.”
Authors of the study recommend a drastic change in policies and implementation, with primary focus on species and habitat conservation, in order to address the situation.