Grassroots efforts aid sea turtles in Nicaragua

By Carlos R. Garcia, Senior Program Director, Nov. 2024. 

ICFC supports a community-led project in Playa Salinas Grandes—located 26 km from the city of León —that demonstrates the power of local action. The project protects the eggs and the beach nesting habitat of four sea turtle species through the annual construction of a community-run hatchery, and by engaging local school children through a Sea Turtle Environmental Education and Protection Program. The program encourages children and adolescents to become ‘agents of change’ in their communities and to promote local practices and attitudes that are conservation-minded. 

Project staff have also worked with local community leaders to implement measures to protect the coastal habitat at Salinas Grandes. These include beach cleanups, the annual construction and maintenance of the sea turtle hatchery and raising awareness about the responsible use of natural resources. The aim is to effect a positive change in the local community’s relationship with nature and to conserve the four sea turtle species that nest on Nicaragua's Pacific coast: olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), and the Pacific black sea turtle (Chelonia mydas agassizii). 

In recent months, project staff have noted a positive result that highlights a change in children’s behavior.  During workshops and other educational activities, kids are provided with much-needed healthy snacks. This year, it was noted that over 70% of the children participating disposed of their leftovers (or garbage) in the appropriate manner, instead of littering the beach or their community.  For project staff, this change shows that “every small step counts.” They are excited about the future of the project and look forward to continuing to inspire these young conservationists at Playa Salinas Grandes! 

I will end with a quote from one of the children: 

“What I like and what has motivated me about the project is that I have learned more about nature, the importance of flora and fauna; that we must take care of our forests and reserves because these are the home of many living beings, such as birds; the turtles that live in the sea and that is why we must control garbage. All this knowledge has helped me get good grades in the natural sciences subjects at school.”  

- Gerardo Avimael Estrada Ramirez (9 years old).