The Indian Ocean South - East Asia Marine Turtle Memorandum of Understanding is an intergovernmental agreement that aims to protect, conserve, replenish and recover marine turtles and their habitats of the Indian Ocean and South-East Asian region, working in partnership with other relevant actors and organizations. Major threats to marine turtles include unsustainable exploitation, destruction of nesting and feeding habitats, and incidental mortality in fishing operations. The Conservation and Management Plan—containing 24 programs and 105 specific activities—focuses on reducing threats, conserving critical habitat, exchanging scientific data, increasing public awareness and participation, promoting regional cooperation, and seeking resources for implementation.
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Waters and coastal States of the Indian Ocean and South-East Asia and adjacent seas, extending eastwards to the Torres Strait. For implementation purposes, the area is divided into four sub-regions: South-East Asia + neighbours, Northern Indian Ocean, Northwestern Indian Ocean, and Western Indian Ocean. States, located on the territory of the Agreement, are the following: Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Comores, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, France, India, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Singapore, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Thailand, Timor Leste, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, United Kingdom, Viet Nam, Yemen. The United States of America is also participating in the Memorandum of Understanding.
The list of the countries, which have already signed the MoU with the dates of the signature in the brackets [1]:
The list of turtle species, currently protected by the Memorandum, is the following [2]: