Dear
colleagues and friends,
At
long last the plans for the CSG-TTF Tomistoma Workshop have come together, and
the workshop is confirmed to be held in Pattaya, Thailand from March 23-27,
2008.
Tomistoma
schlegelii is
considered to be a flagship-species within its habitat, i.e., peat swamp
forests, (also rapidly disappearing in
The
Tomistoma Task Force (TTF) is an international working group within the
IUCN/SSC Crocodile Specialist Group dedicated to quantifying the status of Tomistoma
schlegelii (the False Gharial) in the wild, as this species is currently
viewed by the IUCN and the international conservation community as endangered. The main tasks of the TTF are identifying the
threats to which Tomistoma as a species is exposed, and to promote as
well as implement appropriate conservation actions.
Of
course, all CSG-TTF members are invited and strongly encouraged to attend this
workshop. We also would like to invite those
Friends of Tomistoma and others who are interested in working with us towards
the conservation of this wonderful crocodilian species.
Our friend and fellow CSG-TTF member, Khun Uthen Youngprapakorn has gone to great
effort to create this opportunity for us to discuss and plan for new directions
in Tomistoma conservation, from field research in the Range States to husbandry
and captive breeding efforts, in which Uthen’s Utairatch Farm has had dramatic
success.
The workshop will
include papers from the Range States on the status of Tomistoma in the wild,
the potential for establishing a re-introduction program in Thailand,
ongoing field projects on ecology and genetics,
and captive breeding programs.
The
TTF expects to achieve the development of a formal Action Plan for Tomistoma
Conservation, whose implementation we hope can become a reality beginning by
mid-2008. A manual on Tomistoma husbandry,
as well as plans for an Asian captive population studbook will also be
finalised at the meeting.
Participants
will also enjoy a tour of the Utairatch Crocodile Farm, to witness firsthand
the farm’s facilities for successful captive breeding of Tomistoma on an annual
basis.
.
In
addition, original prints of an outstanding natural potrait of Tomistoma in the
wild, by professional widlife artist John Agnew (http://www.angelfire.com/id/wildscenes/)
will be available for purchase, with 20% of the proceeds donated to TTF.
On behalf of the TTF, I would like to extend
our invitation for you to attend this important conference.
Additional
information on itinerary, accomidations, costs, etc., as well as the official
Registration Form (and electronic payment facility) , will be available at our
website, www.tomistoma.org by 31 December 2007.
Please register as soon as possible.
In
order to avoid using existing TTF funds for workshop related expenses so that
they may be used to fund field projects, we are currently seeking workshop
sponsors In addition to covering workshop expenses, we
are hoping to provide partial funding support for approximately 3-4 persons
from the Range States. For for
information about workshop sponsorship and for those who wish to apply for
partial funding support, please contact Bruce Shwedick (b
We
hope that any who are able, will consider participating in this workshop.
With
best wishes,
Rob
Stuebing
Acting
Chair
CSG-Tomistoma
Task Force
IUCN/SSC
Crocodile Specialist Group