New research challenges indonesia’s claims that legal turtle trade provides adequate income for local communities

Turtles have survived for over 200 million years, outlasting dinosaurs and multiple mass extinction events. However, these ancient reptiles now face an unprecedented threat in Southeast Asia, where dramatically declining populations have triggered what scientists call the “Asian turtle crisis.”

The crisis began around 2000 when China’s growing middle class transformed turtle meat from an occasional delicacy into a regular dietary staple. This surge in demand, combined with habitat destruction and pollution, now threatens more than half of the world’s turtle and tortoise species with extinction.

Indonesia plays a major role in this trade, legally harvesting nearly 50,000 turtles annually from four species: the vulnerable Asiatic softshell turtle, the endangered Southeast Asian box turtle, the Asian leaf turtle, and the Malayan softshell turtle. Proponents argue this legal harvest provides sustainable income for local collectors and traders.

However, new research published in Discover Animals by wildlife trade researcher Vincent Nijman and colleagues disputes these economic benefits. The study compared income from legal turtle collecting with minimum wage work across Indonesian provinces to determine whether the trade actually provides adequate compensation. Their findings suggest that legal turtle trade alone may not offer sufficient income, potentially forcing traders into illegal activities to make the business profitable. This research raises important questions about the effectiveness of current conservation strategies that rely on legal trade to support local livelihoods while protecting endangered species.