Review of SEASTAR2000 Promoted by the COE Bangkok Office: Sea Turtles, Mekong Giant Catfish, Dugongs and Human Beings

We performed international studies at the COE Bangkok office established by the Informatics Research for Development of Knowledge Society Infrastructure in Thailand, The projects include the Southeast Asia sea turtle associative research (SEASTAR2000), the Mekong giant catfish tracking project (MCTP) and the dugong biological survey (DBS). All the species of the projects are heavily endangered and need a sufficient degree of protection. Very little is known of these species whilst the implementation of conservation measures is a pressing problem in Thailand and neighboring ASEAN countries. In these countries, the conservation policy sometimes poses some troubles because the area to be protected is also fishing ground where the local people live. We must appreciate the need for coexistence between the endangered species and the local people based on scientific knowledge