How Conservation Saved Tortuguero
The turtles of Tortuguero have long attracted people from around the Caribbean. But the present-day village was first settled in the 1930s by a Colombian family who set up trade in coconut oil. In the 40s, settlers were enticed by American logging companies promising jobs and prosperity. By the 50s, canals were carved out and the wood floated to sawmills to be cut and shipped by sea down to Limón for distribution around Costa Rica and abroad. Ocean transport was often treacherous though, and wood was too often lost to rough seas. To avoid that, in the 1960s, an 80-km waterway was dredged from Limón to Tortuguero by connecting natural rivers with canals, and it remains a main route to this day. Regardless, the logging business didn't prove financially viable, and the companies departed, leaving their equipment behind, some of which still sits rusting away in Tortuguero's central square. The village reverted to its sleepy past with the few remaining residents going back to subsistence farming, hunting and fishing. They also took advantage of the seemingly endless supply of sea turtles to get more protein in their diets as well as some extra cash in their pockets, gained by selling turtle meat and shells. At the same time, the turning point from sustainable catch to endangered species occurred. Foreign ships were coming to Tortuguero to slaughter the turtles for export to the U.S. and Europe.
Meanwhile, Tortuguero's salvation had already arrived. That would be Dr Archie Carr, an American biologist who had begun researching sea turtles in Tortuguero in the 1950s. Eventually, he recognized sea turtles were doomed unless action were taken to stop the slaughter and the intercontinental trade. Thus, the Caribbean Conservation Corporation was formed in Tortuguero in 1959, dedicated to sea-turtle protection, conservation and research. The CCC's work eventually helped influence the Costa Rican government to introduce wildlife-protection laws – though enforcement was too often lacking. In 1975, Dr Carr invited the Costa Rican President, José Figueres Ferrer, to Tortuguero.
After hearing Carr's stories of declining sea-turtle populations and witnessing a mutilated turtle on the beach, President Figueres was moved to establish Tortuguero National Park that very year. Dr. Carr also realized that he had to have buy-in from locals if poaching were to be stopped. That meant they had to have an alternate source of income beyond selling turtle meat, eggs and shells. He saw that tourism – or what we now call ecotourism – could offer the villagers a sustainable alternative. He predicted "that, if the people of Tortuguero could work together to conserve its natural resources, tourists from all over the world would visit the area, creating jobs and prosperity for the whole village".
Essentially, that's what has happened. Tens of thousands of tourists arrive in Tortuguero annually to see the turtles nest and visit the National Park. Tortuguero has grown to 1500 inhabitants, most of whom benefit from tourism in some way. Though problems persist with poaching by locals, Archie Carr's conservation program has seen the seaturtle population increase greatly since its inception.
References
2013-In-The-Beginning-There-Was-Archie-Carr.- Chapter-2-In-Turning-Turtles-in-Tortuguero-byAnne-Ake.-Larry-Ogren-Consultant..pdf (georgehbalazs.com)
