Dugong Status Report and Action Plans for Countries and Territories

Abstract

The dugong (Dugong dugon) is the only herbivorous mammal that is strictly marine, and is the only extant species in the Family Dugongidae. It is listed as vulnerable to extinction at a global scale by The World Conservation Union (IUCN). The dugong has a large range that spans some 37 countries and territories and includes tropical and subtropical coastal and island waters from East Africa to Vanuatu, between about 26° north and south of the Equator. The purpose of this document is to present a global overview of the status of the dugong and its management in the various countries in its range. We aimed to provide comparative information that will enable individual countries to develop their own, more detailed, conservation plans. This document contains information on dugong distribution and abundance, threatening processes, legislation, and existing and suggested research and management initiatives for 37 countries and territories in the dugong’s known range. The report is organised in a geographical sequence from the Western Indian Ocean region, through to the South West Pacific. Chapter One introduces the Dugong; Chapter 2 comprises information on East Africa; the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf. Chapter 3 discusses India and Sri Lanka; Chapter 4 presents data from Southeast Asia including Japan, Taiwan, China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand; Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia; Chapter 5 discusses Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia and Vanuatu; and Chapter 6 presents information from Australia. believed to be represented by relict populations separated by large areas where its numbers have been greatly reduced or where it is already extirpated. However, the degree to which dugong numbers have dwindled, and its range has been fragmented, is not known for any country in its range. The dugong is still present at the historical limits of its global range, although there is evidence of a reduction in its area of occupancy within this range....