New TUI Turtle Aid projects launched in Cape Verde, Kenya, Turkey and Greece

29.05.2024 - 13:00 / traveldailynews.com / Theodore Koumelis

TUI Turtle Aid programme is introducing a global, turtle-friendly certification scheme which will be pioneered by 30 beachfront businesses across four holiday destinations in Cape Verde, Kenya, Turkey and Greece.

More than 200,000 visitors and locals will be educated in marine conservation and turtle-friendly tourism through info kiosks, public presentations and community engagement across the world, as new TUI Turtle Aid projects launched in Cape Verde, Kenya, Turkey and Greece.

Tourism is the main source of income for many communities on Cape Verde and Greece as well as in coastal regions of Turkey and Kenya. The tourism sector has been the main driver for development in these destinations over recent last decades, and in many cases, this has resulted in added pressure on the natural habitats of endangered sea turtles. For this reason, the TUI Care Foundation set up the TUI Turtle Aid programme, to protect endangered and vulnerable sea turtles, especially around nesting beaches. By working with local NGOs and beachfront tourism businesses, the programme also supports the creation of turtle friendly beaches and engages tourists by raising awareness about turtles and how to protect them.

The Cape Verdean archipelago boasts the largest nesting population of loggerhead sea turtles in the world, with the island of Sal alone having more loggerhead sea turtles than the entire Mediterranean basin. Rapid coastal development, habitat loss and pollution put significant pressure on the island’s limited natural resources. Additionally, poaching of adult sea turtles remains a threat, causing the death of more than a hundred adult female loggerheads annually on the island of Sal alone.

In Cape Verde, the TUI Care Foundation‘s Turtle Aid Programme, in partnership with Project Biodiversity, focuses on the protection of sea turtles through on-foot and drone monitoring of nesting beaches. This includes the relocation of endangered nests to conservation hatcheries or naturally safe spots on the beach. Awareness activities include radio programmes and workshops organised with schools, aiming to educate a broader audience on the importance of marine conservation.

Kenya’s coastal cities of Watamu and Diani face similar challenges to those in Cape Verde, with threats to sea turtle populations from habitat loss and human activities. The TUI Turtle Aid Programme, in collaboration with Local Ocean Conservation (LOC), works to protect sea turtles in various ways. Over 200 adult sea turtles will be rehabilitated, and thousands of hatchlings will be protected through night patrols on the beaches. LOC’s Turtle Rehabilitation Centre treats and rehabilitates injured turtles and releases them back into the ocean. In Diani, two new