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Marine turtles and international instruments: The agony and the ecstasy

This special double issue of the Journal of International Wildlife Law and Policy may not have had as long an evolutionary history as that of marine turtles, but several aspects of its development, structure, and function are worth noting. Marine turtles are large, complex, mysterious, fascinating, appealing — in a word, they are "charismatic." In the terms of biological conservation, they are "flagship species." Although perhaps "lowly" reptiles, these animals easily attract not only biologists, conservationists, naturalists, researchers, and scientists, but also the media and general public. This then impacts "decision makers" and hence the development and implementation of policies at local, national, regional, and international levels. Scientific, educational, management, and political initiatives focused on these marine reptiles have burgeoned over the last decade. Each year, scores of technical papers in professional journals are published, not to mention countless articles in the popular press, videos, and TV shows that tell the turtles' tale. Marine turtle specialists work the entire gamut of disciplines and topics, from molecular genetics, to physical attributes of beach sands, to fishing gear, to eco-region management, to community-based conservation and environmental education, to international policy issues. The number of events specifically focused on these animals —just seven species in total — is remarkable. Over the course of just one year there can be several inter-governmental meetings, as well as dozens of regional workshops, technical meetings, an annual inter-university reunion, and an annual symposium. It would be possible to spend all one's time just preparing for, attending, and debriefing from turtle meetings. Indeed, during the last few years, three international instruments have been developed explicitly to address the conservation of marine turtles and their habitats, and even as formidable an institution as the World Trade Organization