Sea Turtle Conservation & Environmental Education

The Osa Foundation, led by Jonathon Miller, began the Sea Turtle Conservation Project in 2001 at Rincon Beach, to protect the nesting population of sea turtles. Rincón de San Josecito Beach is an important nesting beach in the region where the species of Olive ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea), Pacific Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas), and Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricate) are registered, the latter two being especially endangered.

The main objective of the project has always been to protect females and their nests, both from natural and human depredation, increasing in recent years. According to the article (A. D. Mazaris et all, 2017) Global sea turtle conservation successes: Sea turtles have historically suffered population declines, as a result of, bycatch and harvesting adults and eggs. However, over the last 10 years, individual sea turtle nesting sites show conservation success stories, with long-term increases in the abundance of females and their nest numbers, thanks to beach protection measures, strict fisheries bycatch regulations and the establishment of marine protected areas.

The Osa Foundation protected many nesting sea turtles and their nests for about 15 years, doing the brave job of resisting nest poachers and discouraging this practice. Unfortunately, in 2017, the Mama Carey project of Fundación Osa did not have enough funds to continue monitoring the beach, which included hiring locals and carrying out the nursery construction, so they reluctantly decided to stop monitoring and patrolling the beach. Nevertheless, conservation efforts in nesting beaches have proven crucial to improve the chances of sea turtles’ populations to recover, which is why that same year the Corcovado Foundation, started cooperating with the Osa Foundation to continue with this important effort in Playa Rincon.

During 2018 and 2019, the two foundations collaborated on the sea turtle conservation project, using Osa Foundation’s campsite and more staff was hired, and a considerable increase in the number of volunteers who supported the project was achieved. 2019 was a successful season: 

• 118 nest nests were protected, making this season the highest in the history of Rincon.
• We have also released 7722 turtles, and we still have lots of eggs to hatch.
• We have managed to create a very good relationship with the Rincon community thanks to environmental education and a system of local guides that take tourists to see the turtles while they nest or when hatching.
• More than 60 international volunteers actively collaborated in the sea turtle program, in the construction of the nursery, patrols, censuses, beach cleaning, environmental education, and nursery care.

In 2020, the Corcovado Foundation decided to move the camp from its original place at Fundacion Osa to a more easily accessible place, which will facilitate the operation on this beach and maintain conservation efforts for sea turtles. Key reasons include the need to have a more suitable dedicated space for hosting volunteers and a closer location to the road, to facilitate transportation of food and other goods.

The Corcovado Foundation will maintain the turtle conservation efforts during 2020 in Rincón Beach, while Fundacion Osa decides if they can restart their operation in 2021 and beyond. In the meantime, the main objective is to maintain the presence of the monitoring and patrolling groups on the beach to deter people from nearby towns from poaching the eggs, until somebody else, the community or the Osa Foundation takes over. Poachers avoid confrontation so the mear presence of people on the beach discourages them from visiting the beach.

In the meantime, we will also continue our environmental education, and community outreach activities to get more community members involved in the conservation efforts in the area. To hold the fort, starting this July 2020, we will need more volunteers and funding to pay for the costs of food, lodging, equipment and the salaries of biologists to work on the beach. Every little bit helps.

Links:

• here is what we did last year at the project