{"id":1865,"date":"2015-09-22T11:56:59","date_gmt":"2015-09-22T10:56:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.conservationpulse.com\/?p=1865"},"modified":"2021-03-05T04:57:45","modified_gmt":"2021-03-05T04:57:45","slug":"2015-09-football-matches-to-protect-vietnamese-pond-turtle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indomyanmarconservation.org\/my\/2015-09-football-matches-to-protect-vietnamese-pond-turtle\/","title":{"rendered":"Endemic Vietnamese Pond Turtle benefits from protection agreement signed along with community football matches"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Vietnamese Pond Turtle (Mauremys annamensis<\/em>) is an endemic specie, found only in the lowlands of central Vietnam from Da Nang city to Phu Yen province. Although the species is fully protected under Vietnam’s principal wildlife protection law, Decree 32\/2006-ND-CP and Decree 160\/2013-ND-CP, illegal hunting and trade still remains as significant threats to the Vietnamese Pond Turtle. Within its natural range, Binh Minh Commune, Binh Son District of Quang Ngai province is one of the best remaining natural habitat where local people continue to report catching the species. Since 2008, the Asian Turtle Program (ATP) of Indo-Myanmar Conservation (IMC) has been conducting various activities in order to raise awareness of local people toward the threats facing this turtle species and the importance to its protection.\u00a0 Activities such as community football matches, awareness signboards and annual secondary school programs have all played a part.<\/p>\n

The first football competition was held in 2012, this is the second football competition held for Binh Minh Commune. From the 5th<\/sup>\u00a0to 16th<\/sup>\u00a0August 2015, the ATP in corporation with Binh Minh Commune held the games in two areas of the commune, with the participation of nine teams from four villages. Along with exciting competitive game play the 2015 football matches were also the first year where\u00a0Mauremys annamensis<\/em>\u00a0protection agreements were given to players, spectators, and others from the local community to sign voluntarily. In total, there were 193 local people pledged not to harm or hunt the Vietnamese Pond Turtle as well as others wildlife. We hope that by signing the agreement, the hunting activities of turtle will be reducing in the near future.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Mauremys annamensis<\/em>\u00a0protection agreement is a document including information about the Vietnamese Pond Turtle in Binh Son district and lists the actions that people should do to protect turtle as bellow:<\/p>\n