CAPE VERDE: Record results in the conservation of sea turtles
Sea turtle conservation efforts are producing encouraging results in Cape Verde. More than 140,000 nesting turtle nests have been recorded on the beach of Sao Francisco, in Praia, the capital of this archipelago, located in West Africa. Satisfied with these record-breaking nests, the government promises an increase in the financial aid allocated to Cape Verdean NGOs for the protection of marine turtles.
Good news for the NGOs that ensure the preservation of marine turtles in Cape Verde. The government intends to increase the funds allocated annually for their activities by approximately 70,000 euros. This announcement was made on September 9th, 2020, by Gilberto Silva, the Cape Verdean Minister of Agriculture and Environment. This official had just returned from a visit to the beach of Sao Francisco, in Praia, the Cape Verdean capital located in the south of the country, where a nesting area has been built for the translocation of turtle nests at risk. Result of this operation: more than 140,000 nests have been identified. A record number, which guarantees the government’s ecological and ecotourism ambitions.
“The purpose of our visit is to help raise awareness among the Cape Verdean population of the importance of preserving marine turtles. This protection has an enormous importance not only from an ecological point of view, but also in the promotion of tourism in our country” explains Gilberto Silva, Cape Verde’s Minister of Agriculture and Environment. Considered a “paradise” for sea turtles, Cape Verde welcomes more than 250,000 tourists every year, most of them from Germany, Italy and Portugal.
