300 Sea Turtle Hatchlings Released

August 27, 2009

300 Sea Turtle Hatchlings Released

Three hundred Kemp's Ridley sea turtle hatchlings were released on August 26 in the Barra de Santiago Beach, Ahuachapán, in an effort to protect the species.  The Community Development Association of Barra de Santiago Women carried out the conservation project with support from the Fund of the Initiative for the Americas El Salvador (FIAES).   FIAES is a debt-for-nature swap program subscribed to by the governments of the United States and El Salvador and since 1993 has invested over $44 million in environment and child survival projects.  The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) represents the U.S. Government in the FIAES Administrative Council.

As the first of 15 release events, this activity was attended by children, adolescents, parents, community members, the media, and officers from the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN), USAID, and FIAES.

The FIAES Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtle Project seeks to preserve the sea turtle species by creating hatcheries.  On a regular basis, FIAES and MARN personnel train former turtle eggs vendors so that they take care of the hatcheries and provide information to tourists interested in the topic.  In this manner, FIAES promotes coastal communities’ development.

FIAES’ technical and logistics assistance to the MARN, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, and other stakeholders in sea turtle conservation, has resulted in the total and permanent ban of sea turtle eggs consumption and trade.  FIAES has supported sea turtle conservation projects in eight beaches for a total amount of $200,000.  The specific project of Bara de Santiago Beach amounted to $25,000.