Turtle conservation in Panama at Soropta and Playa Larga
In Panama the Endangered Wildlife Trust has two projects, one at SOROPTA and the other at PLAYA LARGA, for the protection and conservation of the giant leatherback turtles, a critically endangered species.
These projects were started in 2002 at a time when many leatherback turtles were being slaughtered on Panama's beaches, where it was customary to eat the meat of the leatherback, as well as its eggs. By contrast, in next-door Costa Rica, there is heavy poaching of leatherback turtle eggs but the meat is not sought after. We therefore had a situation where the Pacuare Reserve and other Costa Rican turtle projects were protecting leatherback turtle eggs but the turtles that laid them were quite likely to lay their next clutch of eggs in Panama (they lay 7-9 times at intervals of 10 days), where they could well be killed. The worst of the killing beaches was a stretch of about 6 kms of Soropta beach, 15 kms from the Costa Rican border, where about 35 turtles were killed annually. With a colony of only a few hundred females, that was the path to extinction.
A beautiful Leatherback Turtle on Soropta Beach
Although both projects are an easy boat-ride from Bocas del Toro (known simply as 'Bocas'), the popular resort on the island of Colon, they protect beaches which are isolated and unspoilt.
The SOROPTA project started in 2002 with the purchase of some land behind the beach and the building of accommodation for a biologist, a few local guards and up to 15 volunteers. During the leatherback season, March to June, the beach is patrolled every night, turtles are tagged and some nests relocated to a protected hatchery.
Environmental education is an important part of the programme and our biologists visit local schools to talk about conservation and the need to protect the turtles. We employ eight local men as beach guards and assistants at Soropta and it is rewarding to see how interested they have become in turtle conservation. We also work with local groups on neighbouring San-San and Sixaola beaches to provide incentive and some organization for protection of their beach.
We work with local groups to teach them about the importance of turtle conservation
PLAYA LARGA, the other beach project we have taken on, is very different. While Soropta is on the mainland, Playa Larga is a golden sand beach on the island of Bastimentos. Because it lies within a National Park, we do not own any land or buildings there but base the project around a beach hut, which we renovate annually.
Playa Larga has fewer Leatherbacks than Soropta but it attracts a significant number of Hawksbill turtles. These are normally targeted by poachers for their beautiful shell (wrongly known as tortoise shell) but the isolation of Playa Larga ensures there is almost no poaching.
A biologist and up to six volunteers run the project, doing the same work as at Soropta but without the threat of such heavy poaching.
Playa Larga appeals to those looking for the "Robinson Crusoe" life. It is an idyllic beach with hardly ever a tourist. Food is delivered once a week and the volunteers cook for themselves (Soropta employs a cook).
We greatly value volunteers, not only for their practical and financial contribution towards keeping these projects going, but also for spreading the word about the need for turtle conservation.
Although both Soropta and Playa Larga are now mainly Leatherback turtle beaches, the Bocas archipelago used to be one of the most important nesting grounds of the Hawksbill turtle in the western hemisphere. The beaches around Bocas now see very reduced numbers due to the heavy harvesting of both eggs and shell but 100 kms to the south, where there are only isolated beaches and no tourism, there are still Hawksbill turtles in appreciable numbers.
Our biologists work on a Hawksbill turtle research project in that area when our leatherback turtle season finishes at the end of June.
