salutes the women of Palau, for their recent
efforts to conserve their populations of green and hawksbill turtles. The
islands of Palau are in the Philippine Sea, east of the Philippines, north
of New Guinea, west of the Caroline Islands. This is sea turtle range, and
the women of Palau have for centuries been the curators and users of turtle
products; eggs, meat, and shell are their prey and property, for exchange,
for status, and for the comforts of continuing a long standing cultural
tradition. In recent years, the turtles have become endangered, perhaps in
part due to increased commercial sale of their products.
Formerly,
the largest hawksbill shells were the most highly prized of a woman's
possessions, as they were heated and processed into a form of women's
currency called toluk, an oval shell tray. Women gave and received toluk in
ceremonies unique to their culture. Turtle eggs were collected from
beaches, and female turtles were targeted by men hunters, because they were
higher in fat than males, and because they might contain eggs. Turtle meat
was served at special occasions such as weddings, funerals, and other
ceremonial events. Turtle shell was also used in fashioning bracelets and
other jewelry, used primarily by women as items of status. The two species
were traditionally used sustainably as a resource especially prized by the
Palau women, but consumed by the entire community in a culturally
prescribed manner.
Today, use of green and hawksbill turtles has become
unsustainable, and both species are now endangered. Turtle products have
moved into widespread commercial trade among islands. Tourism has had an
adverse impact, as products are now seen in shops and markets throughout
Palau, whereas they formerly were used exclusively by women in their own
affairs. Although the expansion of use of sea turtles has been a process in
development, it has now come to the attention of the Palau Conservation
Society, the Palau Division of Marine Resources, Koror State Rangers, and
the Nature Conservancy. Concerned persons in these organizations wisely
realized that in order to conserve the turtles, the women of Palau must be
convinced that this is of immediate importance.
This process is described by Elizabeth Matthews, of the
Palau Conservation Society, whose "Women in Fisheries Information
Bulletin #10", April 1, 2002, outlines the new process of educating
the women of Palau about the seriousness of the situation. Dr. Nicolas
Pilcher, a turtle biologist, gave an address on the status of green and
hawksbill turtles to the women leaders of Palau.
This had an immediate effect; key members of Palau's
women's hierarchy immediately decided to take the new message home to their
communities, so that the rest of Palau's women shall do their part to
conserve this traditional resource. Instead of outsiders causing the
government to ban the use of the resource, the process in Palau consists of
women deciding to stop eating turtle meat as an everyday staple, to stop
killing turtles for new shell resources, and to stop raiding nests on the
beach. Old and treasured toluk are now being recycled among women, instead
of new, freshly harvested shells. Turtle products are being gradually
eliminated from sale to tourists. All of these decisions are being made by
the women leaders of this island nation, and it is expected that the sea
turtles of Palau, and the people who revere them, shall benefit from new
understanding and a reduced, more traditional use of this resource.
This intelligent process of cultural change under modern
conditions should serve as a model for other nations whose expanding use of
traditional resources may be endangering range species. The nation of Palau
has shown the world a way to conservation through community leadership and
involvement.
