The Territorial Sea of São Tomé houses five of the seven species of sea turtles in the world.
Dozens of tourists gathered on the beach of Vila Maria, on the island of São Tomé-et-Príncipe, to attend the survey of 400 baby turtles of sea.
Baby turtles spent two months incubated in the sand, in nesting sites watched by the inhabitants of the island who work to protect this endangered species.
“It is the first time, with a certain enthusiasm, that I see nature beat its full, these turtles joining their natural habitat after being born on the sand”, Declares Jeremiias Rodrigues, a tourist who visits the island.
On the western coast of Africa, São Tomé-et-Príncipe is the only reproduction refuge of the Sada turtle. The protection and preservation of these species in the archipelago is a permanent challenge.
Relaxation is supervised as part of an initiative of the Tatô program, an international NGO based on the island of São Tomé and Príncipe which manages the conservation of marine and coastal ecosystems.
“The Sada turtle is the last reproductive species on the West African coast. Other countries have it, but there are few of them, while we have a population which, if we protect it, can increase and repopulate this area”explains Antunes de Pina, the head of the Tatô program. He continues “On the main nesting beaches, we have people who work at night to protect them, and at the same time, they collect data that is important so that we can conduct studies and we also take a lot of us to raise awareness “.
The Tatô program was the main engine of the conservation of sea turtles. His work consists in meeting complex socio-economic challenges and threats that persist on the island, demonstrating the importance of an approach integrated into a wide range of areas such as research, monitoring and protection of nesting areas and critical food, advocacy and law application, capacity building and economic diversification, education, communication and public awareness by multiple stakeholders.
