Thamihla Kyun (Diamond Island) Wildlife Sanctuary
Location:
15°51'N, 94°17'E; about 10 km off the southern Arakan coast, opposite the mouth of the Bassein River, Irrawaddy Division.
Area:
88 ha.
Altitude:
0-24m.
Biogeographical Province:
4.4.1
Wetland type:
03, 04 & 05
Description of site:
A small, offshore island to the west of the Irrawaddy Delta, measuring about 1,1OOm by 730m. The topography is undulating, with low cliffs to the south and west dropping to narrow, sandy beaches. Much of the island in pock-marked with bomb craters. With the exception of the north, the island is surrounded by a rocky reef, about 270m in width, comprising sandstone and shale. There are three small freshwater reservoirs on the island, the largest covering approximately 0.6 ha.
Climatic conditions:
Monsoonal climate with an average annual rainfall of about 5,080 mm. The monsoon season extends from mid May to October, with some rain during April and November, and virtually none from December to March.
Principal vegetation:
Sandy beaches are backed by a typical beach vegetation with Hibiscus sp, Terminalia catappa, Casuarina equisetifolia and Cocos nucifera. The sheltered northern part of the island has good cover of Bombax malabaricum, Ficus spp. Lagerstroemia macrocarpa, Xylia dolabriformis, Terminalia belerica and Lannea grandis. Evergreen shrubs and bamboo constitute a fairly dense understorey. The southern part of the island is more exposed, and supports a poorer cover with patches of open grassland and bare rock interspersed with evergreen thickets.
Land tenure:
State owned; the sanctuary notification conceded 1.1 ha to the Port Commissioner of Bassein, and allowed fishermen to seek temporary shelter in bad weather.
Conservation measures taken:
The island was declared a Wildlife Sanctuary in October 1970 by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests. As a Wildlife Sanctuary, the fauna is protected in law by the 1936 Burma Wildlife Protection Act. Under this Act, the Forest Department is the licensing authority for collection of sea turtle eggs. Sea turtles, their eggs and nesting sites come under the provisions of the Fisheries Act (last amended in 1949), whereby the government controls turtle egg collection. Current turtle conservation measures include a closed season from 1 April to 15 May, purchase of 5,000-10,000 eggs annually by the Fisheries Department for rearing and release of hatchlings, and the protection of a very limited number of nests on the island itself. These conservation measures are considered inadequate to stem the present decline in turtle numbers.
Conservation measures proposed:
Better protection of the sea turtles on Thamihla Kyun is urgently required if their populations are to be sustained. In 1983, it was recommended that (a) the island's legal status as a Wildlife Sanctuary be strictly enforced, and all turtle egg collection should cease; (b) four guards be permanently stationed on the island, both to protect the turtle nesting sites from poachers, and to prevent unauthorized landings; (c) the People's Pearl and Fisheries Corporation be encouraged to desist trawling or seining in coastal waters on the seaward side of the island between the Alguada Reefs (15°42'N, 94°13'E) and Cape Negrais (16°03'N, 94°l2'E); and (d) more detailed studies of the turtle population on the island be undertaken (FAO, 1983b). In addition, a nationwide management plan for sea turtles was proposed, under which sustainable quotas for egg collection would be established and enforced (Salter, 1983).
Land use:
Harvesting of sea turtle eggs and fishing. There is no resident local population on the island. The People's Pearl and Fisheries Corporation maintains a representative and a small number of labourers, and a policeman and forest guard are resident. In 1983, there was a temporary military garrison on the island. The island has a sheltered anchorage of some 3-5m in depth.
Disturbances and threats:
The sea turtles are seriously threatened by the intensive egg-collecting and offshore trawling activities of the People's Pearl and Fisheries Corporation. Between 1.5 and two million eggs were harvested annually at the beginning of this century. By 1980, this harvest had fallen to an average of 150,000 eggs per year. The People's Pearl and Fisheries Corporation is still permitted to collect nearly all the turtle eggs, whilst its trawling operations offshore are thought to be responsible for about 100 turtle deaths each year.
Economic and social values:
In recent years, some 150,000-200,000 turtle eggs have been collected each year by the Ngapudaw Township Cooperative for sale to the People's Pearl and Fisheries Corporation. This harvest, worth about US$30,000 annually at Rangoon prices, is declining as the resource continues to be over-exploited (FAO, 1983b).
Fauna:
The island is a very important nesting site for sea turtles. The Green Turtle Chelonia mydas is much the most abundant species. The Loggerhead Caretta caretta is also reported to be common (about one third as many as C. mydas), but some confusion has arisen over identification, and these may in fact be Olive Ridleys Lepidochelys olivacea. A third species, the Hawksbill Eretmochelys imbricata, is occasionally reported. The number of turtle eggs collected on the island has declined by about 88% since the turn of the century, almost certainly reflecting a similar decline in the breeding populations (FAO, 1983b). The breeding population of C. mydas is currently estimated at about 1,800 females.
The Indian Muntjac Muntiacus muntjak and Hog Deer Cervus porcinus were introduced on the island in 1963, and are both still present.
Special floral values:
None known.
Research and facilities:
The island was surveyed in December 1982 and January 1983 to re-evaluate the site as a Wildlife Sanctuary (FAO, 1983b). There are no facilities for visitors.
References:
(1983); FAO (1983b & 1985a); Groombridge (1982); IUCN (in prep); Maxwell (1911); Salter (1982 & 1983).
Criteria for Inclusion:
1b, 2a, 2c.
Source:
See references.