TAOLA - The Cape Verdean Sea Turtle Network meets in Praia

The Cape Verdean Sea Turtle Conservation Network, "Taola", met last week in Praia, Santiago, in a 3 day event that started on May the 30th. 

Organized for the third year on the row, representatives of all the sea turtle initiatives in the country, gathered to present their project results and plans for 2011, and to discuss important issues such as the need to catalogue all nesting beaches, protection and law enforcement issues, regulation of turtle-watching activities, among others.

Side events included a "batucada" show, a visit to the local sea turtle protection initiative in São Francisco.

The first turtle arrived!!!!

Its with excitement that we announce that the first turtles have started to arrive in both Boavista and Sal, according to our colleagues of Natura 2000 and SOS Tartarugas!

The first nest was recorded in Ervatão beach (Boavista) on the 25th of May, while the first track was recorded on the 4th of June. These early records have surprised us all. Will it be the anticipation of a great season?

WE HOPE SO!! :-)

In the meantime, Turtle Foundation preparations are underway, with camp coordinators and local assistants finding their way to Boavista in the next few days. Equipment are all set, and plans are underway for an early start (planned for the 15th of June).

Now we just have to wait for our first turtles appearing on "our" beaches. Exciting!!! We will let you know, for sure!

http://turtlesoscaboverde.blogspot.com/2011/06/you-know-turtle-season-has-started-when.html

Turtle Foundation receives grant from SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund

Turtle Foundation is thrilled to announce that we have received a SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund grant in support of our loggerhead conservation project in Cape Verde.  This fund has granted over 6 million dollars to more than 500 projects worldwide for wildlife conservation, research and education.  We are  happy to be associated with SeaWorld and Busch Gardens and to share their goal of encouraging stewardship of the natural world and its wonders.  For more information on their work, go to:   http://www.swbg-conservationfund.org/

Workshop presentation of the "National Plan for the Conservation of Sea Turtles in Cape Verde"

"The national plan for the conservation of marine turtles in Cape Verde" will come into force later this year and will be made known in all the islands in the coming months, said the coordinator of the plan, Sonia Araujo, the Directorate-General Environment. 

The plan announced yesterday that the government provides for "ensuring sustainable conservation of sea turtles," providing the means to implement conservation activities and promote the application of the law. 

Cape Verde ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1995 and since 2005 is part of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Regionally, Cape Verde is part of the Regional Programme for the Conservation of Marine and Coastal Zone of West Africa (PRCM) and the Regional Unit Conservation of Sea Turtles of the Atlantic Coast of Africa (URTOMA). 

Although this plan has been ratified, and laws already exist to protect the turtles, enforcement has been problematic and the slaughter has continued, prompting Turtle Foundation's protection project.  Turtle Foundation is working with the government and all stakeholders to help implement the National Plan.

Interestingly, if my google translate is correct, the article states that the loggerhead turtles"are not yet on the list of endangered animals in the short term".  I beg to differ with that assessment; this population is currently listed as threatened and under review for listing as endangered.  

The original article is in Portuguese and may be viewed here: Sistema de Informação Ambiental

New hotel RIU – TOUAREG is now open in Lacacão beach

It was about a week ago that the controversial new hotel in Lacacão beach was inaugurated and welcomed their first guests (Fig.1).

Built in one of the most important nesting sites of the Loggerhead sea turtle in Cape Verde, Lacacão beach, its construction phase caused many environmental and social impacts in the island, and was the main reason why Turtle Foundation initiated a protection program here in 2009. With more than 500 construction site workers based at the construction site during the nesting season, poaching of the turtles was a recurrent problem, and very difficult to control. Despite our efforts, several dozens of turtles were slaughtered on this beach in the last few years.

As the construction is now completed, we hope that the poaching pressure will decrease. However new problems will arise, most importantly the impact of the lights from the hotel in the behaviour of nesting turtles and emerging hatchlings (Fig.2); removal of natural nesting sites for creation of leisure areas (Fig.3); obstruction to nesting females by beach furniture (Fig.4), easier access to the beach due to improved roads (Fig.5) (All images presented are from the new hotel, and were taken this week).

Over the last week Turtle Foundation staff participated in several meetings with responsibles from TUI and RIU, to try to find a effective collaboration in the mitigation of the impact of the threats mentioned above. This included the visit of an expert on the mitigation of light impact on nesting beaches from Florida, Mr. Erik Martin (from our blog: http://turtlefoundationcv.blogspot.com/2011/04/lighting-specialist-travels-to-cape.html), and the presentation of a detailed proposal. We will also carry out an intensive nest management program on this beach, as well as conduct a study on the impact of the lights on the behaviour of both nesting turtles and hatchlings.

The nesting season is due to start in about 1 month, and we are expectant to see whether the suggested measures will take place, and that the impact of this hotel will cause minimum impact on the nesting turtles and hatchlings. Please visit our blog for updates in the following months.

For more information about this hotel, the future Lacacão Golf and Beach Resort, and other related news, visit the following link:

http://www.lacacao.com/

http://www.riu.com/en/Paises/cape-verde/boa-vista/clubhotel-riu-touareg/index.jsp