Latest news with #WorldTurtleDay
Kuwait Times
03-06-2025
- Business
- Kuwait Times
Gulf Bank organizes cleanup campaign on Qaruh Island
KUWAIT: To mark World Turtle Day, Gulf Bank partnered with the Trashtag and Dive36 teams to organize an environmental cleanup campaign on Qaruh Island. The effort included the participation of the bank's divers and volunteers from 'Sawa'ed AlKhaleej,' working together to clean the island's waters and shores. This campaign highlights Gulf Bank's continued dedication to protecting the marine environment and promoting a culture of sustainability within the community. The bank consistently works to launch and support initiatives that safeguard natural resources and increase environmental awareness. For Gulf Bank, environmental protection goes beyond volunteer efforts — it's a fundamental part of its corporate and social responsibility. The campaign also reinforces Gulf Bank's active role in supporting both national and global efforts to tackle environmental challenges such as marine pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss. The Bank remains committed to embedding sustainability into its daily operations — from reducing resource consumption and advancing digital transformation to limit paper use, to backing environmental initiatives that engage and benefit the wider community. Gulf Bank firmly believes that collaboration and environmental responsibility are essential to shaping a sustainable future. Initiatives like this serve as a powerful reminder that meaningful change starts with a single step, and that each person and organization has a part to play in creating a cleaner, more balanced world. Gulf Bank divers carry the underwater flag. The Bank extends its sincere appreciation to all the divers and employee volunteers who played a vital role in the success of this campaign, reaffirming its unwavering commitment to advancing environmental sustainability across Kuwait and beyond. Gulf Bank aims to be Kuwait's leading bank, fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace to deliver exceptional customer service while contributing sustainably to the community. Through its extensive branch network and innovative digital services, the Bank empowers customers to conduct banking transactions conveniently and efficiently, ensuring a seamless experience. In alignment with Kuwait Vision 2035, 'New Kuwait,' and its commitment to fostering collaborative partnerships, Gulf Bank is dedicated to driving robust sustainability initiatives across environmental, social, and governance (ESG) dimensions. The Bank is committed to implementing strategically selected and diverse sustainability programs both internally and externally.
Express Tribune
02-06-2025
- General
- Express Tribune
Call for action on marine turtle conservation
"Despite being recognised globally, marine turtles still struggle to receive the attention, funding, and space they deserve in broader marine policy and planning. Turtle conservation is most effective when it builds on what is already working on the ground, not when it imposes top-down models disconnected from reality". WWF-Pakistan stated this in its press release issued on World Turtle Day observed on May 23. The organisation also called for coordinated efforts and actions across the political and geographic borders to conserve the migratory turtle species. The organisation urged that many conservation programmes continue to prioritise nesting beaches, often neglecting foraging areas, migratory corridors, and offshore hotspots, even though these are often the sites of greatest threat. WWF-Pakistan also urged the transnational coordination and integration of local and indigenous knowledge into governance systems to protect marine turtles. According to WWF-Pakistan, the migratory nature of the marine turtle makes them inherently a shared species, not in ownership, but in responsibility. What happens to a turtle in one country's waters (e.g., bycatch, habitat loss, pollution, climate change) affects the population across the region. In Pakistan, turtles are facing several threats, including habitat degradation, anthropogenic and shoreline development activities, which hinder the nesting activities of turtles.
The Citizen
27-05-2025
- General
- The Citizen
Excel Edu Centre ‘shellebrates' World Turtle Day
Excel Edu Centre in Brakpan joined nature lovers across the globe in celebrating World Turtle Day on Friday. This event, commemorated annually on May 23, is dedicated to raising awareness about the conservation and protection of turtles and tortoises, and their disappearing habitats. Raphael, the school's turtle, enjoyed some extra special pampering on the day. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
Hans India
26-05-2025
- General
- Hans India
Turtle research centre sought near Rushikulya river mouth
Berhampur: As Rushikulya river mouth in Ganjam district has emerged as a major rookery for Olive Ridley turtles, wildlife lovers and experts have demanded the establishment of a turtle research centre in the area to study the behaviour of the marine animal. The demand in this regard was made at a meeting observing the 'World Turtle Day' on May 23, at Purunabandh, near the river mouth. The meeting was organised by the Khallikote forest range. 'It's high time the government take steps to expedite the proposal for setting up of turtle research centre near the rookery,' said Rabindra Nath Sahu, secretary, Rushikulya Sea Turtle Protection Committee, an organisation working on conservation and protection of the Olive Ridley turtles. The Forest department has identified around 3.5 acres of government land near Purunabandh for the establishment of the proposed centre, sources said. Many speakers at the meeting said due to the active participation of local people in the protection and conservation of the endangered sea turtles, the Rushikulya river mouth has emerged as a major rookery. A record number of around nine lakh Olive Ridley turtles visited the beach for mass nesting in two phases this year. While 6, 98,698 Olive Ridleys had laid eggs on the beach in their first phase of mass nesting from February 16 to 23 in the 5-km stretch from Podampeta to Bateswar, over 2.05 lakh turtles had laid eggs in the same stretch in the second phase of mass nesting from March 22 to 27, said Dibya Shankar Behera, Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF), in-charge in Khallikote range. He said a record number of baby Olive Ridley turtles had also emerged from the pits and moved towards the sea with the help of forest staff and local volunteers. Anil Mohapatra, senior scientist of Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), said Olive Ridley turtles preferred to return to Rushikulya rookery for mass nesting due to its safety and protection. He said around 12,000 female turtles had been tagged by the ZSI and the Forest department in the 2021-23 period at Rushikulya rookery to monitor their movement. 'We have recaptured over 553 of them in the same site so far. This indicates that they preferred to revisit the rookery for mass nesting,' he added. Shankar Naryan Bez, coordinator of district Eco-Club, lauded the community participation in the protection and conservation of Olive Ridley turtles near the Rushikulya river mouth.
Time of India
25-05-2025
- Time of India
150 rare turtles rescued in Pilibhit; international smuggling link suspected
The rescued turtles as belonging to the Indian soft shell, Indian flap shell, Indian peacock shell, and Indian narrow head species – all protected under the Wildlife Protection Act's Schedule-I. PILIBHIT: A day after the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) authorities devised a plan on the eve of World Turtle Day to intensify surveillance to effectively curb turtle trafficking, a team, acting on a tip-off, led by the sub-divisional forest officer (SDFO), Ramesh Chauhan, succeeded in apprehending two turtle traffickers. They were carrying over 150 turtles of different species, listed in Schedule-I of the Wildlife Protection Act, in an SUV. The third trafficker, Sachin Singh from Uttarakhand's Udhamsingh Nagar district, who was the mastermind behind the turtle trafficking, managed to evade the enforcement team. Given the turtles' distant origin and their numbers, officials suspect a connection between the traffickers and an international network of turtle smuggling. Two traffickers, identified as Rakesh Mandal (28) and Vishal Gayan (26) from the same village in Uttarakhand, disclosed in the presence of TOI that they bought the turtles from Rasulabad–Kanpur road near Rasulabad Ghat of the river Ganga. They divulged that 'the turtles in Rasulabad are kept ready for sale in packed condition for prompt dealing. Packed in jute bags, the turtles are sold by weight at the rate of Rs 150 per kilogram without any consideration of specific species. ' Of the two nabbed traffickers, Vishal is an arts graduate. The traffickers were apprehended on Saturday afternoon near a Bangali village, Tanda Colony, under Neuria police station limits in Pilibhit, which was the initial supply point for the turtles. Later, the turtles were scheduled for supply to Udhamsingh Nagar through their next links in the chain. Dr Shailendra Singh, the director of Turtle Survival India Alliance, identified the rescued turtles as belonging to the Indian soft shell, Indian flap shell, Indian peacock shell, and Indian narrow head species – all protected under the Wildlife Protection Act's Schedule-I. Based on the recovery of two mobile phones and five SIM cards from the traffickers, the divisional forest officer (DFO) of PTR, Manish Singh, said, 'We will track the mobile phone details of the recovered SIM cards, which will help detect information about the traffickers' network.' This was the first instance where information about the traffickers' connectivity in Tanda Colony village in Pilibhit surfaced, he added. 'After seeking legal advice from the departmental lawyers, we shall register a case against the three traffickers under relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act, while a release order for the turtles would be obtained from the court at the soonest to release the rescued turtles in the Mala river at PTR,' DFO Singh said, adding that around 10 turtles in the jute bags died due to suffocation and dumping, while the legs of two giant turtles of narrow-headed species were tightly tied with jute cord to make them immovable.
