SOS meets the President of Timor

SOS were invited to a meeting by the President of Timor during his visit to Cabo Verde.  Sr Jose Ramos-Horta funds turtle conservation in his own country and was eager to exchange ideas that may help their fledgling project.

The meeting was attended by Jacquie Cozens, Neal Clayton and Joana Gouveia and the topics ranged from how to raise money to the use of hatcheries.

Timor is situated north of Australia and was a colony of Portugal until 1975 when it was annexed by Indonesia.  Following a brief rule by the UN, the country became fully independent in 2002.

The seas around Timor are extremely rich and diverse in corals and marine life and two species of turtles nest there (hawksbill & olive ridley).  Thankfully the president told us that there is not a strong tradition of hunting and eating turtle and the populations are stable.