He Program of Monitoring and Protection of Sea Turtles of miches (Protortoise) concluded this Friday with its second season of monitoring turtles marine, with outstanding achievements in conservation and education environmentalpositively impacting both the biodiversity and the communities of this municipality in the province of El Seibo.
The program is led by the El Seibo-Miches Hotel and Tourism Association (Promiches), in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources.
By 2024, Protortoise reported a notable increase in the success rate of hatching of nestsreaching 59% compared to 28% the previous year, which translates into a total of 2,925 eggs rescued and protected.
Furthermore, the program managed to protect 100% of the nests on key beaches such as Esmeralda, Celedonio and Limón. For this season, the expansion of the program to the La Vacama sector managed to protect 40% of the nests in this area, which allowed an increase in the number of newborns of turtles marine on strategic beaches for conservation.
The press release indicates that, in collaboration with Club Med Miches Playa Esmeralda and WID Company, the first nurserieswhere they are sheltered nests of different species of turtles marinas of several nearby beaches.
“These nurseries They play a fundamental role in protecting the eggs, increasing the survival rate and contributing to the species conservation such as the leatherback turtle, the green turtle and the hawksbill turtle,” the note indicates.
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At an educational level, Protortuga trained more than 255 local young people in responsible tourism and sea turtle conservation. Another achievement made by the program was the coordination of the first national sea turtle tagging workshop in alliance with the National Aquarium, training 18 researchers, strengthening local scientific knowledge.
Protortoise was part of the panel of experts that participated in the Congress Ecosystems Coastal Marinos from Auxiliares Navales Dominicanos where the relationship between ecotourism and the conservation of coastal marine ecosystems was presented.
As a pilot plan, the visit of tourists germans to Protortuga conservation activities, demonstrating that visitors to the Dominican Republic want to leave critical ecosystems for the survival of species in danger of extinction in better environmental conditions.
“With close cooperation between the public sector, tourism companies and government agencies, Protortoise not only protects turtles marinas, but also promotes tourism development models sustainable and regenerative in line with the Sustainable Development Goals,” the information says.
The 2024 season concludes with recommendations to increase education environmental and expand monitoring efforts, including more beaches and being more effective in collecting data for the protection of the turtles marine.
For the 2025 season, Protortuga intends to continue positively impacting the ecosystems and coastal communities of the Dominican Republic, continue with the processes of education environmental for citizens and generating collaborative alliances with different sectors, thanks to the commitment of companies such as Promiches, Tropicalia, Club Med Michès, Secrets y Dreams, Viva michesCEPM, Yanuna project and WID Company.
