|
 Although all species of sea turtles are officially protected under the laws of Cape Verde, they are exposed to multiple threats. The primary threats are the slaughter of female Loggerheads when they come ashore to nest, and the destruction of their nesting beaches by uncontrolled construction as part of a rapid tourism development.
The Cape Verde nesting population of Loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) which is the third largest population in the world after the nesting populations of Oman and Southeast Florida is particularly threatened. It is estimated that up to 90% of the nesting occurs on the island of Boavista, the largest of the eastern islands with an area of approximately 620 km². (Marco, 2008.) There the nesting females are currently being heavily exploited by poachers for their meat. When they come ashore to nest they literally crawl directly into the arms of their butchers who have been waiting for them impatiently. Their slaughtering methods are incredibly brutal and horrifying. This is not only about animal conservation but also about animal protection and preventing animal cruelty.
Boavista, with roughly 50 kilometers of sandy beaches, is probably the largest remaining nesting area of Caretta caretta in Cape Verde. During the 2007 nesting season (June to October) approximately 12,000 -15,000 nest were built and about 1,000 female sea turtles were killed when they came ashore for nesting. This corresponds to 6-10% of the entire nesting population in Cape Verde!
Therefore the TURTLE FOUNDATION worked out a plan to set up and operate a camp for about 20 rangers in order ensure the protection of the Loggerhead turtle nesting population in Porto Ferreira, an important and highly frequented nesting beach 15 kilometers long, during the 2008 nesting season. In 2007 approximately 600 adult sea turtles were poached right on this beach.
 The camp will be self-sufficient with respect to electricity, water and food supply. The beach protection program will be run with local staff as well as volunteers and Turtle Foundation personnel. The project is managed by three full-time employees of the Turtle Foundation; a Camp Leader and Project Manager on-site, and a Project Coordinator based in Europe. The local military commander has committed to providing the Turtle Foundation with soldiers for beach patrolling.
At the beginning of 2008 the project was already under way: the costs were determined, cooperation agreements were signed with the project partners, including Natura 2000, the Ministry of Environment and Agriculture in Cape Verde, the Boavista community council, and the military command, and Turtle Foundation staff were committed.
In early June the final preparations took place on site in Boavista and at the end of June the nightly patrolling started. However, due to lack of sufficient funding the project for this year's nesting season had to be reduced in size quite significantly. For the time being the TURTLE FOUNDATION had to postpone the plan to build a camp inside the protection zone. Instead, the patrol staff stayed in Sal Rei and travelled each day to the protected beach to do patrols.
We saw positive results almost immediately: During the very first patrols our staff discovered turtles turned upside down waiting for the poachers to return for the slaughter, and these turtles were saved before the poachers could return. At the same time we realized how important a beach conservation camp would be, as a camp would assure a permanent presence of our people at the beach and this would certainly increase our protection success rate!
At the end of September we conducted our final beach patrols for this season. The numbers of turtles coming ashore to nest has decreased to a trickle, a reliable sign that this year’s nesting season of Caretta caretta draws to a close. Without having numbers yet, we already know we had a successful season protecting sea turtles.
The planning of the 2009 nesting season has already started. One thing’s certain already now: sooner or later we will need a beach protection camp. But in order to realize this urgent plan and to improve our protection measures or even to expand them to other currently unprotected beaches on Boavista, more funds are needed urgently. Please help!
|