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Sea turtles throughout the world's oceans are endangered, and species such as the leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) turtles of the eastern Pacific are nearing extinction (Sarti-Martinez et al. 2007; Chaloupka et al. 2004). In response to this crisis, governments, communities, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are forming new partnerships to increase protection for sea turdes. Such alliances can provide valuable lessons for involving local communities in conservation.
This paper seeks to share the strategies and approaches applied by the organization Paso Pacífico to partner with local communities in sea turtle protection. Paso Pacífico is a non-profit organization founded in 2005, and is focused on restoring and protecting the endangered ecosystems along the Pacific slope of Central America. The program activities of our relatively young organization aim to conserve ecosystem processes operating at a landscape scale. Thus, we pair forest conservation efforts with complementary actions in the coastal and nearshore marine environments. Paso Pacifico currendy focuses its conservation efforts on southe western Nicaragua, where we are developing the Paso del Istmo Biological Corridor, a series of private protected areas connected through sustainably managed landscapes.
Sea turtles in the Nicaragua ? social context
Sea turdes are an important target for Paso Pacifico's conservation efforts. Four different species nest along Pacific beaches of southern Nicaragua: the olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivaceae), hawksbill, leatherback, and Pacific green (Chelonia my das). Despite its global importance as a locale for sea turtle reproduction, sea turtle nest poaching is widespread. At unprotected beaches, nearly 1 00% of nests located are lost. Local people and fishermen track the beaches at night for nesting turdes, and upon finding a nest, they immediately harvest all the eggs. Although there is variation among species, one sea turde nest may provide up to ten dozen turde eggs. Poachers sell captured sea turde eggs to middlemen who take the eggs to urban centers where they are sold at public markets and restaurants throughout Nicaragua. Local people who initially sell the eggs receive US$1. 50-3. 00 per dozen eggs.
The sea turtle egg trade in Nicaragua is influenced by the pervasiveness of rural poverty and the culture of turtle eggs as food. Nicaragua has the smallest economy in Latin America and the second lowest gross domestic product (IMF...