Saving turtles and creating jobs

THE nightly ritual of turtles emerging on the shores of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, a World Heritage Site, to lay their eggs first caught the attention of scientists in the 1960s along the KwaZulu-Natal coast.

While this had been an extraordinary experience to witness over the years, the critically endangered leatherback and threatened loggerhead turtle populations began to decline.

It soon became evident that these animals were being killed for their meat, and their eggs were taken illegally by local communities along the coast.

To advance the much-needed protection of the nesting turtles, the Ezemvelo Turtle Monitoring Programme was initiated. To tackle the decline in the nesting turtles’ population, the programme’s aim is to turn the poachers into custodians.

WildOceans, a programme of the WildTrust, is fund-raising to sustain it.

The programme employs members of the local Maputaland community to monitor and protect vulnerable turtles that visit the shores of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park.

The crowdfunding campaign in partnership with Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and Different.org, an online philanthropic platform, aims to raise R300000 for the programme by the end of December.

The programme has seen significant job creation within the coastal communities and created a sense of ownership for the wildlife and the environment along the coastline.

To date, due to the initiation of the turtle monitoring programme, loggerhead turtles have experienced a significant increase in numbers, while the nesting leatherback turtle population is stabilising.

There are now only about 80 nesting leatherback and 935 loggerhead turtles that visit South Africa’s shores annually.

Turtles play an important role in maintaining the health of the world’s oceans. This ranges from maintaining productive coral reef systems, to transporting essential nutrients from the oceans to beaches and coastal dunes.

Lauren van Nijkerk of the WildTrust said the programme was not only crucial for the survival of the loggerhead and leatherback turtle populations, but important for local communities.

“A programme such as this creates jobs and custodians of nature and wildlife,” she said.

To donate, visit: https:// different.org/projects/wildlands-conservation-trust/safeguarding-and-monitoring-turtles/.

Pictures: ROGER DE LA HARPE READY TO HATCH: The eggs of a critically endangered leatherback turtle pictured at iSimangaliso Wetland Park in KwaZulu-Natal.

RITUAL TREK: A loggerhead turtle, a threatened species, at iSimangaliso Wetland Park makes its way back to the water after laying its eggs. Turtles like this one first caught the attention of scientists in the 1960s along the KwaZulu-Natal coast.