The Asian Turtle Program (ATP) is Indo-Myanmar Conservation’s flagship program focusing on the conservation of tortoises and freshwater turtles in Southeast Asia. It was established in 1998 and incorporated into IMC in 2015.
ATP originated with the development of the Turtle Conservation Centre (TCC) at Cuc Phuong National Park, Vietnam and, as a result, much of the work in the previous 20 years has been focused in Vietnam, where, of the 26 confirmed species here, 6 are listed as Vulnerable, 9 are Endangered and 7 are Critically Endangered, according to IUCN’s Red List (2020).
ATP’s aim is to establish a safe and sustainable future for Asian turtles and ensure that no further turtle species become extinct in the region. This is done through conducting research in situ and ex situ, protecting habitats, raising awareness and building expertise.
ATP has concentrated its efforts on Vietnam’s priority species (i.e. the most critically endangered or endemic) including: the endemic Vietnamese Pond Turtle (Mauremys annamensis), the Box Turtles of central Vietnam, Bourret’s Box Turtle (Cuora bourreti) and the Southern Vietnamese Box Turtle (Cuora picturata), and the legendary Hoan Kiem Turtle (Rafetus swinhoei), also known as Swinhoe’s Softshell Turtle, in northern Vietnam, largely recognised as the most endangered turtle species in the world.
