WWF-Guianas has commenced a comprehensive assessment of the threats facing marine turtles at Shell Beach Protected Area, one of the most important nesting grounds for 4 marine turtle species.
This initiative, which is being led by WWF-Guianas’ ocean Officer in Guyana, Ms Diana Fernandes, is helping to identify practical, community-informed actions to better protect endangered marine turtles, including the Green and Leatherback turtles that return to Guyana’s north-west coast each year to nest.
Through interviews and discussions conducted by Ms Fernandes with community members, fishers, local leaders and Protected Areas Commission rangers in Region One, the assessment is capturing frontline knowledge about the pressures affecting turtle nesting beaches and nearshore habitats. Consultations have included locations such as Moruca, the Waini River, the Aruca River Mouth and Smith’s Creek, reinforcing WWF-Guianas’ commitment to conservation approaches shaped by the people closest to the resource.
Preliminary findings point to a combination of climate and environmental pressures, illegal harvesting, marine pollution, fisheries interactions, and operational gaps that can affect the effectiveness of current protection measures. Shell Beach, Guyana’s only coastal protected area, stretches for more than 120 kilometres and is nationally recognised for its biodiversity and importance to marine turtle conservation.
The information gathered will feed directly into a targeted threat mitigation plan designed to prioritise actions based on urgency, feasibility and community needs. Expected outcomes include strengthening the current monitoring and patrol strategies, interventions to address the socio-economic drivers of illegal harvesting, improved awareness and behaviour change efforts, and stronger evidence to support policy and advocacy for marine turtle protection.
By grounding conservation planning in local knowledge and lived experience, WWF-Guianas aims to help strengthen a more responsive and sustainable approach to protecting marine turtles and the coastal ecosystems on which they depend. The organisation will continue to engage stakeholders as the assessment progresses and as priority mitigation actions are refined.
