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 Sea turtles around the world are under siege. Of the seven species, six are either critically endangered or vulnerable to entanglement in fishing gear and consumption of their eggs, meat, and shells.
In addition, new threats like climate change, plastic pollution, and disease are dramatically increasing.
Entanglement in fishing gear at sea is a huge problem for sea turtles. A recent study suggested that as many as two million turtles were caught in fishing gear over a 20 year period, many of which died when they couldn’t reach the surface to breathe. Meanwhile, the beach is no safer for the turtles. In many countries, the eggs are considered an aphrodisiac and there is a huge black market in bars and restaurants. Green turtles continue to be a major source of meat in some communities and hawksbills are sought after for their shells to make jewelry. For more details about the threats facing sea turtles, visit
www.seeturtles.org/1127/turtle-threats.html.
The good news is that where conservation efforts have succeeded in reducing the poaching of eggs and turtles over a long period, turtles are recovering. Ecotourism is extremely important in generating the financial support needed for turtle conservation and bringing important income into communities surrounding turtle habitats.
EcoTeach is dedicated to promoting sea turtle conservation tourism and supports several turtle conservation projects while offering truly participatory adventures for students.
There are many things you can do to help protect sea turtles:
*
Inspire your students with SEE Turtle’s teacher-created
sea turtle lesson plans
* Use SEE Turtle’s turtle
watching guidelines when traveling through turtle habitat
* Eat sustainable seafood, its healthier for you and the ocean. Download
a
Seafood Watch card
* Make sure not to purchase wildlife products on vacation. Download the
WWF guide
* Become a sea turtle activist by taking action through
Sea Turtle Restoration Project
Study Manatees at the San San Pond Sak Project in Panama
 Located on the Caribbean coast of Panama and covering approximately 40,000 acres of land, the
San San-Pond Sak project encompasses a complex of lakes, streams and swamps with the Changuinola River running down the middle. The area was declared a Wetlands of International Importance in 1993 and is a joint initiative between the National Environmental Authority of Panama (ANAM) and inhabitants of the San San and Pond Sak rivers and coast.
The project is home to aquatic birds and different species of fauna that are in danger of extinction, such as manatees and sea turtles. Encompassing several rare habitats like lowland rainforest, three wetlands and two mangrove swamps, the San San Pond Sak project also safeguards the only orey and jolillo palm swamps in Panama. It also contains the only intact mangrove swamp on the Atlantic coast of Panama.
The manatee population protected by the San San Pond Sak project is one of the most important in the Wider Caribbean. However, even within protected areas, the endangered manatee is threatened by destruction and loss of habitats critical for growing, feeding and migration; contamination from terrestrial sources (drainage, sewage, and pesticide run-off) and uncontrollable coastal development.
The San San Pond Sak project aims to incorporate the local population in sustainable management of natural resources, conserve the manatee population in the San San River watershed, and safeguard the natural ecosystems of the area. The project creates jobs in the community that range from unspecialized (e.g. cook, kitchen helpers, housekeepers, drivers), to specialized ones, that require technical training (research assistants, nature guides, cabin owners, craftsmen, weavers.The project also promotes formal education through alliances with education centers and universities.
EcoTeach has been working with the San San Pond Sak project for several years to provide volunteer support and vital income to the project and surrounding community. During a visit to San San Pond Sak, EcoTeach travelers will conduct daily manatee surveys, visit the observation platform to record critical information about manatee groups and their behavior and participate in activities to clean up the environment.
EcoTeach volunteers can help raise critical awareness about the species and reduce environmental threats. Students may also have the opportunity to participate in nightly sea turtle patrols, depending on the season. To find out how you can help the manatee population in Panama, check out our
Caribbean Adventure itinerary.
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Connect, Share & Stay Informed
Want to stay connected to EcoTeach? Get inspired about our destinations here!
Join a Summer 2011 Trip
Check out our Educator Trip for only $995 (airfare not included) or our
Volunteer Vacations for adults and families!
Educator Trip
Volunteer Vacation
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Did You Know?
Claudia Poll is Costa Rica's only gold-medalist, having won the country’s first Olympic gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Poll won the gold medal swimming the 200 meter Freestyle event. It was a surprising win as she snatched the medal from Germany's Franziska Van Almsick
who was favored to win the event. Poll also competed at the 2000
Olympics, where she won two bronze medals. Poll’s parents were of German
descent and settled in Nicaragua where they had Claudia and her older
sister Silvia, who was also a competitive swimmer. Following the 1972
earthquake of Managua & rising political tensions, Claudia's parents
moved to Costa Rica and began a new life. Poll holds Costa Rican citizenship while being of German ancestry & Nicaraguan birth.
She began swimming in 1979 under coach Francisco Rivas and quickly became one of the best in Central America, winning many regional titles. In 1997, she was named by Swimming World Magazine as the Female Swimmer of the Year.
EcoTeach Photo Contest
Don't forget to cast your vote for your favorite photo in the 1st annual
EcoTeach Photo Contest. Winners receive cash prizes and may have their
photo featured in EcoTeach marketing materials, web site and more.
Voting ends December 15.
Click here to cast your vote!
EcoTeach Travel Kits
EcoTeach has put together a convenient travel kit for your next trip to
Costa Rica. Each kit includes a stainless steel water bottle to keep you
hydrated during your travels (and to keep plastic bottles out of
landfills,) an EcoTeach rain poncho to keep you dry while you're
patrolling the beaches for nesting sea turtles and a license plate frame
that will let your friends, neighbors and complete strangers know that
you helped save turtles in Costa Rica. The EcoTeach travel kit is
$25.00. Order as a group and save on individual shipping fees.
Click here to order your kit today.
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