Recovery plan for threatened Mary river turtle and other species drafted in 2013 but never approved • Sign up to receive the top stories every morning

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Conservationists trying to save the Mary river turtle have had to resort to selling turtle chocolates and soliciting donations from the United Arab Emirates to try to help save the endangered reptile from extinction.

And a Mary river catchment committee that developed a recovery plan for the turtle and four other Mary River species has been waiting years for the federal government to approve the finished plan, which is in draft form and awaiting official sign-off.

It comes after Guardian Australia revealed that the endangered turtle species, which is found only in the Mary River in Queensland, did not have a recovery plan in place to protect it from extinction and it was unclear whether any federal funds had been specifically allocated toward its protection.

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The turtle attracted worldwide headlines last week for its green mohawk and listing at 29th place on a list of the most vulnerable reptile species compiled by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL).

Charles Darwin University researcher Marilyn Connell is among a group of volunteers with the Tiaro Landcare group that have tried to raise funds for the turtle’s protection.

The group’s work is focused on protecting turtle nests from predators, funding scientific research into the species, and trying to raise its public profile.

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Connell said the group had received some funding in the past through federal grants they had applied for but currently received no government funding.

“We’ve been doing this since 2001 and we’ve had a multitude of funding sources, including the federal government. But it’s not reliable and it has come on our own initiative,” she said.

She said they had been heavily reliant on sources outside Australia, including the Mohamed bin Zayed Conservation Fund, headed by Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, which had previously supported the group’s work for three years.

Last year they received a small donation from the Stockholm’s herpetological society. Connell said the group also fundraised by selling chocolate turtles and estimated they would need just $40,000 a year to fund a program of work.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Researchers are trying to find out why a national recovery plan for the Mary river turtle has never been enacted.

Connell and other researchers have also been trying to find out why a national recovery plan that included the turtle species has never been enacted.

In 2009, when then environment minister Peter Garrett rejected the Traveston Crossing dam in Queensland based on the potential impact on threatened species, he directed the environment department to investigate the possibility of developing a regional recovery plan.

Development of the recovery plan, which was to be Australia’s first multi-species river-based recovery plan under national environment laws, began in 2011 and the then-Labor government allocated $2.4m over six years to improve the health of the Mary river.

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A recovery plan was developed for five species, the Mary river turtle, the Mary river cod, the Australian lungfish, the giant barred frog and the Freshwater mullet; and a draft was finished in 2013.

Dr Tanzi Smith, a catchment officer with the Mary river catchment coordinating committee, which has led the recovery plan efforts, said despite ongoing work and conversations with the environment and energy department, the plan had never been signed off.

“Part of me is interested in what the reason for the delay has been, but really we just want 2018 to be the year it’s endorsed by the [environment and energy] minister,” Smith said.

“I just want them to utilise the work that has been done and recognise that there is a community here in the Mary river catchment willing to implement the plan.”

Comment was sought from the environment and energy department.