Proceedings of the Eighteenth (18th) International Sea Turtle Symposium Held 3-7 March 1998 in Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico

摘要

For the first time in its history, the International Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation migrated to a site outside of the United States. Thus the Eighteenth edition was hosted by the Mazatlan Research Unit of the Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnologia of the Mexican National Autonomous University (UNAM) in Mazatlan, Sinaloa (Mexico) where it was held from 3-7, March, 1998. Above all, our symposium is prominent for its dynamism and enthusiasm in bringing together specialists from the world's sea turtle populations. In an effort to extend this philosophy, and fully aware of how fast the interest in sea turtles has grown, the organizers paid special attention to bring together as many people as possible. With the tremendous efforts of the Travel Committee and coupled with a special interest by the Latin American regions devotees, we managed to get 653 participants from 43 countries. The number of presentations increased significantly too, reaching a total of 265 papers, ranging from cutting-edge scientific reports based on highly sophisticated methods, to the experiences and successes of community-based and environmental education programs. A priority given by this symposium was the support and encouragement for the construction of 'bridges' across cultural and discipline barriers. We found success in achieving a multinational dialogue among interest groups: scientists, resource managers, decision makers, ngo's, and private industry. There was a broad representation of the broad interests that stretch across these sectors, yet everyone was able to listen and offer their own best contribution towards the central theme of the Symposium: 'The conservation of sea turtles and the diversity of marine and coastal environments in which they develop through their complicated and protracted life cycle'. Our multidisciplinary approach is highly important at the present, finding ourselves at a cross roads of significant initiatives in the international arena of environmental law, where the conservation of sea turtles has a key role to play.