Golden Buddha Beach Resort

Conservation

A Sea Turtle Conservation Project has been running on Koh Phra Thong since 1996. During the nesting season (December through April) staff and volunteers with Naucrates will be on the island and are delighted to tell you about their efforts to protect the sea turtles.

Three different species of marine turtles are known to lay their eggs along the 15 kms of beach: the olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), the leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) and the green turtle (Chelonia mydas). In addition, the hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricate) was recorded in the past.

Long ago, up to 15 nests per year were found, mainly in the first 3 km next to the resort. In recent years the numbers have severely diminished. Naucrates volunteers live in Lion’s Village (old Bak Jok) and have a small museum there. This makes a nice excursion, especially in the afternoon when the volunteers are available to explain their project goals.

An important aspect of the Sea Turtle Project is addressing the local community and running educational programs in the local schools.

How you can help with Turtle Conservation

During turtle season (December – April) do the following:

• Turn off your house lights before you come to dinner. Avoid useless lighting. Illuminating your garden may be pretty, but it disrupts turtle nesting behavior.
• Do not go on the beach in the night making noise.
• Do not use a flashlight (torch) on the beach at night.
• Do not light fires or candles.
• Do not remove sticks marking nests (with red tape).
• Do not throw rubbish or cigarettes on the beach.
• If you see any tracks on the beach, please inform staff
• Visit the Naucrates web site: www.naucrates.com and subscribe to their newsletter.
• Participate in PADI Turtle Awareness specialty course with Blue Guru
• Report any sightings via Project Aware website: www.projectaware.com

In the rainy season of 2001 we had our first very exciting Reptile Project. It provided us with vital information and logged many identifiable reptiles. If you see a snake, don’t panic – come to us or note its coloring, locations, approximate size and interesting details. We have reference books and you can help us identify it and learn more about our neighbors. It could even be a Paradise Tree snake. They are very rare but they like living on Koh Phra Thong. If you come across something over a meter (3 feet) long that is black with speckles of greenish yellow or reddish orange spots, you may have found one.

The rainy season of 2002 was the first Mangrove Project Volunteers surveyed the mangrove canals behind the resort and carried out identification of the abundance of differing species residing there. Subsequently they have returned after the tsunami and have been following the re-establishment of areas that were destroyed. You can see one of the survey sites just to the northeast of Baan Marina established by a group from the University of Birmingham.

In the way of conservation, we ask you to pay special attention to not touch, remove or damage any coral when you go snorkeling or diving. Corals are extremely fragile ecosystems and the smallest human interventions can have a large impact. The coral re-growth since the tsunami has been impressive.

Along the same lines of thought, you should not collect or remove any wildlife or natural objects – corals, shells, rocks, skins or plants. Feel free to look and photograph but please leave for others to enjoy. That empty shell you take from the beach may be someone’s home.

Noise pollution is also an issue in natural environments. We hope you will find that “silence” of nature more than makes up for the absence of loud human noises. Please use headphones to listen to music.

Conservation Courses

Blue Guru Conservation offer a range of PADI courses for non-divers & divers to learn more about threats to marine environments & species and what you can do to help conservation.

These 1-day environmental awareness courses include:

• Project AWARE (marine conservation awareness)
• Coral Reef Conservation
• Turtle Awareness
• Whale Shark Awareness
• AWARE Fish Identification
• Underwater Naturalist

Whale Shark, Manta Ray & Turtle Awareness Program

From February – April Blue Guru runs the Whale Shark, Manta Ray & Turtle Awareness Program. These educational holidays combine a relaxing 4-night stay at Golden Buddha followed by a 4 night liveaboard diving trip in search of turtles, manta rays & whale sharks. During the vacation, participants learn more about turtles, manta rays & whale sharks, their biology, distribution, threats & how to help conservation.