Latin America’s coastlines host some of the hemisphere’s most significant nesting and foraging grounds — and some of its most inspiring conservation stories. In Baja California, Mexico, fishermen-turned-conservationists formed Grupo Tortuguero de las Californias after a wave of grassroots monitoring in the 1990s. In Costa Rica, groups like LAST and COASTS patrol nesting beaches nightly during the season. In Brazil, Projeto TAMAR operates visitor centers spanning thousands of miles of coastline, protecting all five sea turtle species found in Brazilian waters.
These programs share a common thread: deep partnership with local, often coastal and fishing, communities — turning economic incentives that once threatened turtles into incentives that protect them.
