Native Oceans at the ISTS 2008

Native Oceans was chosen as the theme of the 28th annual meeting of the International Sea Turtle Society (ISTS) in recognition that sea turtle conservation is not only a modern effort, but a continuation of an ancient tradition that indigenous peoples the worldover have practiced for centuries. Indigenous conservation is critical to international conservation efforts as indigenous peoples are most often living in the closest contact with the natural environment, have the strongest cultural ties to other species and have a direct need to coexist with other animals such as sea turtles. They also maintain age-old traditional knowledge and conservation strategies that are often overlooked in conservation management. Choosing Native Oceans as the theme delivered a clear message of support and interest from the broader ocean and sea turtle conservation community to coastal indigenous communities.

At the ISTS, the theme was reflected not only through the participation of indigenous groups, but also through the scientific presentations as authors responded to the call to re-think conservation efforts, paying special attention to shifting baseline concepts, and placing the current findings and status of marine systems in a socio-historical context. Onsite at ISTS this year, we had the participation of over 50 indigenous people representing 15 indigenous nations from Australia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Palau, Panama, and Venezuela. The Seri, as the official hosts of the ISTS, welcomed the community, with their Leatherback Ceremony and at the Welcome Social.

During the ISTS meeting, the Native Oceans Council met on several occasions, including in a public session in the Loreto town plaza, in which the Seri formally welcomed each indigenous nation and participants exchanged music, art, ritual, stories, questions and information about their respective communities and projects. Additionally, the Seri and the Australian Traditional Owners began a formal knowledge exchange which will continue throughout the year; they will have their second face-to-face meeting in Australia in the fall of 2008.

Through our work at the ISTS, the commitment of the Native Oceans participants was strengthened as new project ideas were born and solutions to pre-existing problems were discovered. Additionally, the exchange of age-old traditional wisdom and 21st century conservation strategies with the international sea turtle conservation community brought new inspiration and deepened the commitment to their work; it also raised new questions and concerns that warrant investigation. From all sides, the desire to grow the Native Oceans project has never been stronger. Native Oceans is an ongoing project of Ocean Revolution> and will play a role at the ISTS 2009 in Brisbane.