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ASVO currently has three Sea turtle Conservation and Research Projects in the Pacific beaches of Costa Rica.
Matapalo beach
The Conservation and Research Project in Matapalo has a long history. It began on 7 June of 1991 when Mariela Rodriguez and Mr. Mario Avila Rodolfo Montenegro, both members of the community of Matapalo, started the initiative.
That makes this community project one of the oldest in the Pacific area .
Since then every night of the turtle nesting season, which runs from June to December each year and t, the nests of sea turtles which are deposited on this beach have been protected.
In 2002 the Environmental Unit of the Coast Guard provided support to the work with the control and protection. However, despite the goodwill, there was no organizational structure necessary to obtain research permits at that time.
This apparent lack of a structured organizational platform and the lack of trained personnel to document the biological processes of the target species were the main reasons for the community of Matapalo to ask for the cooperation of the Research Coordination of ASVO.
This request was channeled through the regional group of ASVO in Perez Zeledon (by its Spanish acronym ASVOECOT) and the Association of Friends of the Turtle (by its Spanish acronym ATOM).
ASVO started to work in Mata Ppalo beach in 2005. Before that the community had protected about 60 thousand eggs, and released and approximately 53 thousand turtle hatchlings from different species, mostly Lora o Lepidochelys olivacea, some green and hawksbill turtles. (Read more about turtles in Costa Rica)
Furthermore, as an alternative to passive use turtle resource, the community has developed an important activity known as the Sea Turtle Festival, where they make speeches, releases of hatchlings and cultural activities.
The most important results of the last five seasons that we have been working can be seen in the following charts.
Protected eggs – Hatchlings released
Buena Vista Beach
Actually at the majority of the coastal areas is exert a strong impact on marine turtle populations. This situation responds to different variables such as: the consumption of meat and eggs, disorganized visitations by tourists, vehicular traffic on the beach, lighting, garbage accumulation in the beach drift, among others.
The beaches on the Nicoya Peninsula are not the exception. On their territory are located some of the most important nesting sites including intensive nesting sites, lonely nesting and turtles arrivals. However there are gaps of information about the importance of the sites so it is really necessary to research and generated more data to determinate the real ecological value of this area.
For these reasons, ASVO seeks to continue the effort that begun in 2005 in cooperation with Environmental
Management Office of the Nicoya local government . The results of this research allow us to describe the nesting activity of the different species of turtles that frequent the beach, this information is usefull to generate environmental policies that will support the Tempisque Conservation Area (ACT by its Spanish acronym)).
ASVO continues the research activities initiated by the Coastal Marine Resource Program . The results of these efforts are shown in the next graph that shows the amount protected eggs and the number of neonates released during seasons we have worked in Buenavista beach.
All final research reports are available on the ASVOBiblioteca
Protected eggs –Hatchlings released
Romelia
In 1998 this site was declared as a protected area with the name of "National Wildlife Refuge Joint Category Romelia". There are many reasons to conserver this area: it is a buffer zone and part of a biological corridor of Cabo Blanco Absolute Reserve, the Nicoya Peninsula Protected Area and Nature Reserve Absolute Nicholas Weesberg.
There is also a wide biodiversity. This protected area was established with the intent to meet the needs of the nearby population research, recreation, environmental education and sustainable utilization of natural resources.
It is for this reason that in 2009 ASVO started to work in Romelia with the aim of evaluating and protecting populations of sea turtles that nest on the beaches of the Refuge and on adjacent beaches.
Our Research Department is working to determine the number of turtles that come to lay eggs and the anthropogenic and natural threats that have the eggs to achieve a satisfactory hatching success.
So far it has been determined that significant threats and looting by local people and high tides cause harm to avoid nests that hatch.
So far we have implemented various methods of mitigation and relocation of nests in sites considered safe at the beach. In the months of August and September a nursery was constructed where the nests are being deposited for safety.
The beaches on which we have been working for the season of evaluation (2009-2010) to October over a hundred signs of activity and two different species of turtles, green and Kemp's ridley turtle which motivates us to think they are beaches solitary nesting of low intensity.
Contacts
Research Department
Ricardo Hernandez Sanchez
rhernandez@asvocr.org
Emelina Corrales
ecorrales@asvocr.org
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