Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Seeking Adoptive Parents for Turtles

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CARACAS, Jul 8 2006 (IPS) - A program to protect sea turtles of the southern Caribbean and the beaches of Venezuela began a new phase with the search for “adoptive parents” — symbollically — for each of the animals sighted by the Center for Researcha nd Conservation of Sea Turtles (CICTMAR). “The symbolic adoption of a turtle or of its nest helps contribute with the annual financing for the care of 120 nests,” CICTMAR director Hedelvy Guada explained to Tierramérica.

The cost of adopting a turtle of the leatherback species (Dermochelys conacea) is 30 dollars, and the renewal price is 25 dollars, if it is an individual adoption, and 140 dollars for a collective adoption. “We are promoting this approach for groups of friends, businesses or schools,” said Guada.

Whoever adopts a turtle or nest receives a certificate, informational material and posters. Cictmar, in addition to protecting the nests, marking and studying the females, promotes education of the residents of Paria peninsula, in far northeastern Venezuela, to prevent harm to the species.