Tourism helps spare green turtles’ lives in Nicaragua . Tourist Guides of New Community-Based Tour Operator – Kabu Tours – Recognized for Completing Training

Pearl Lagoon, South Atlantic Autonomous Region, Nicaragua – At the end of March 2013, a group of fishermen from the community of Kahkabila, on Nicaragua’s Atlantic Coast, was formally recognized for completing training as tour guides in reef ecology and turtle watching, as they prepare to launch their new locally managed business, Kabu Tours. This project, conceived and implemented by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) to provide alternative incomes to fishermen that rely on fishing green turtles for their livelihood, is implemented within the framework of the Mangrove Project, which is supported by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARENA) with funding from the Government of Spain, and also with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Kabu Tours will operate ecotours in the Pearl Cays Wildlife Refuge to bring visitors closer to the rich biodiversity of the region, including coral reefs, seagrass flats, sea turtles and their nesting beaches. As fishermen are making an income from tourism, they have agreed to reduce their harvest of the endangered green turtle (Chelonia mydas). While Nicaragua’s Atlantic Coast allows a limited subsistence harvest of this species, this project generates new income and creates opportunities for community people and provides a strong incentive for the conservation of sea turtles and other biodiversity in the Pearl Cays Wildlife Refuge. “The site is truly exceptional and it’s worth doing a tour with Kabu Tours. The beneficiaries are really very committed and excited by the possibilities which lie ahead. Just the fact of having learned how to float, snorkel and be able to identify fish and coral species has motivated them incredibly,” says Ian Drysdale of Healthy Reefs, who recently ran one of the fishermen’s trainings. The Pearl Cays Wildlife Refuge was officially declared protected in 2010. There are 22 coral cays in the protected area and they are lined with mangroves, coral rubble and sandy beaches and surrounded by coral reefs and sea grass beds. This marine environment provides crucial breeding, developmental, and migratory habitat for many species like the endangered green and loggerhead (Caretta caretta) sea turtles, and especially for the critically endangered hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata). In addition to its biological and ecological value, the Pearl Cays Wildlife Refuge also supports fisheries for green turtles, lobster, several species of scale fish, sharks, and invertebrates like conch and sea cucumbers. fuente. PNUMA