Source : Vietnam News, 16 Feb'05
By : VNS
  

	Nest egg: The "duck egg" exercise was used to provide an opportunity for students to practice recovering eggs from nets, marking, and working with basic measurements. — VNS Photo

Six students from Ha Noi National University and Vinh University participated in the seven-day intensive training programme held at Cuc Phuong National Park’s Turtle Conservation Centre (TCC).

The students, selected due to their interest and experience working with turtles, were provided with a basic introduction to the ecology of Viet Nam’s 23 tortoise and freshwater turtles species, as well as an overview of the Asian turtle crisis within the Viet Nam context.

The training focused on building practical field skills amongst the participants that will be useful in carrying out surveys and contributing to the conservation of turtles. Skills included the development of the students’ field identification skills, learning basic mapping and navigation, interview-based survey technique, use of radio telemetry to monitor turtles in their habitat, and methods of trapping, and carrying out timed searches to survey turtles in the field.

The training course was designed to engage the students as much as possible through hands-on learning approaches.

For example, the trainees practised their turtle field identification skills working with examples of some 16 species held at the TCC. Following discussions on interview methods and a series of role-playing exercises designed to develop the trainees’ interview skills, participants conducted interviews in villages outside the park.

During the evening, the trainees discussed and analysed the results of their interviews.

Course participants carried out small focused research projects involving captive turtles at the TCC, the results of which were presented on the last day of the course.

They also experimented with trapping in a local wetland, and practised completing field records and processing turtles for a number of fictitious situations that are commonly experienced in the field.

Course instructors included Bui Dang Phong, manager of the TCC; Tim McCormick, research co-ordinator for the Viet Nam turtle programme; David Emmett of Conservation International’s Indo-Myanmar Programme; Vu Thi Quyen, education programme director for Education for Nature-Viet Nam; and Douglas Hendrie, Wildlife Conservation Society and Cleveland Metroparks Zoo Asia Regional Turtle Conservation co-ordinator.

The course was the first of what may become regular training programmes focused on building interest and expertise in turtles and their conservation amongst university students in the region.

The next scheduled training course at the Turtle Conservation Centre in Cuc Phuong will focus on helping turtle experts from Myanmar, Cambodia, and Viet Nam design and develop enforcement training programmes that will be carried out in their own countries for wildlife protection authorities.

The training course was carried out with the support of the Wildlife Conservation Society, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, Rufford Foundation, and Conservation International, in addition to technical and training support provided by Cuc Phuong National Park and Education for Nature-Viet Nam. — VNS