Leathery back

This is a government run turtle nursery on the western coast of Simeulue. No one has really documented it but the island seems important for the conservation of various sea turtle species. Green, hawksbill and leatherback turtles all nest on this stretch of beach.

Here beachside communities notify the government staff at the nursery when turtles are nesting and the government digs the eggs up, gives the community member around 3,000 rupiah (around 25 cents) per egg and reburies the eggs in a hatchery closer to its office where the eggs won't be poached. This preemptive compensation for eggs that haven't actually been poached at that point is a strange system of incentives and it sets an odd precedent, although it half works if the objective is to ensure eggs don't find their way to markets. Maintaining a turtle hatchery is a technical business that requires much training and survival rates of eggs would likely be higher if they were left in situ. More ideal would be if potential poachers were trained as beach guards to identify, patrol and protect the nests until the turtles hatch. This also feels more sustainable and would demonstrate more greatly the value of and need for protection.

I hope this is something we can engage on in future. Our Nicaragua project has done an awesome job using such a model.