LAST — Latin American Sea Turtles Association

LAST (Latin American Sea Turtles Association) envisions “a future where all inhabitants of the Costa Rican coasts, human and sea turtle alike, can live together in balance.” For nearly three decades, the organization has worked directly with Costa Rican sea turtle populations.

What they do

Population management and monitoring of nesting sea turtles
Community-centered conservation initiatives
Coastal habitat management
Volunteer-supported field research

LAST integrates both ecological restoration and economic opportunity into its model — recognizing that lasting conservation has to work for coastal communities, not just for turtles.

COASTS — Costa Rican Alliance for Sea Turtle Conservation & Science

COASTS works on the frontline in Costa Rica, studying and protecting mating, nesting, and feeding sea turtles through a combination of field-based research and direct conservation action.

Impact so far

49,371 turtle hatchlings released
276 female sea turtles protected
7.2 tons of plastic removed from marine environments
7,695 patrol hours logged
$158,223 generated for local coastal economies

Partnerships

COASTS collaborates with Costa Rican government agencies — including SINAC and MINAE — as well as international conservation organizations and research institutions across Europe and North America.

SEE Turtles

SEE Turtles protects sea turtles globally through direct funding, education, and experiential travel — with its flagship Billion Baby Turtles initiative paying local residents to patrol nesting beaches, protect nesting females, and guide hatchlings safely to the sea.

Reach

SEE Turtles funds partner organizations across six continents, with a particularly strong presence in Central America (Costa Rica, Panama, Mexico, Nicaragua), South America (Colombia, Venezuela), Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia), Africa (Kenya, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Togo), the Caribbean, and Pacific Island nations.

Track record

Since 2013, SEE Turtles has funded 300+ grants across partner organizations, contributing to the protection of millions of sea turtle hatchlings. Its Billion Baby Turtles program alone has distributed grants supporting an estimated 528,000+ hatchlings.

Other programs

Turtle Conservation Tours combining education with hands-on fieldwork
Efforts to reduce illegal wildlife trade and plastic waste
School-based education and community leader development