Community-based Environmental Conservation — Kenya (2010)

After participating in awareness and capacity-building meetings run by COBEC, Kenyan fishermen release turtles that they would have previously slaughtered. © COBEC

Unsustainable fishing practices are a leading threat to local sea turtle populations in Kenya. With the help of a 2010 SWOT grant, Community-based Environmental Conservation (CobEC) led an awareness-building campaign for fishermen that combined environmental education with capacity building. COBEC organized a series of local meetings at which fishermen were taught about local marine ecology and sea turtle conservation and research techniques such as turtle tagging, nest mapping, and nest protection. In addition, five outdated fishing nets were replaced with new, more turtle-friendly nets. In the months following the campaign, the number of turtles released by fishermen increased.