Turtles’ Best Friend on Maligi Beach

The turtle conservation area Surya has set up is located on Maligi Beach. The site spans around 4 kilometers from the activity center in the south to the turtle hatchery in the north.

KOMPAS/YOLA SASTRA

Surya.

For seven years, Surya, 34, was involved with smuggling protected wildlife. However, he became aware at one point and did an about-face. Over the last three years, he has been making efforts with his friends to save the turtles on Maligi Beach from the threat of the local community’s practice of hunting turtle eggs for consumption.

“I used to sell protected animals. Now is the time to make amends for my old sins,” Surya said on Tuesday (15/3/2022) during a visit to his house on Maligi Beach, Jorong Pantai Indah, West Pasaman, West Sumatra, which also serves as a center for the activities of Pandah ArtGreen.