Building a Dynamic Conservation Movement

Back

The Grupo Tortuguero strives to develop conservation leaders and build a dynamic grassroots conservation network. The grassroots conservation network, combined with strategic academic, government and NGO alliances, is the foundation of our approach. We build our network by holding biannual group meetings, offering connectivity grants to communities throughout our network, organizing international exchanges and through organized events, including sea turtle festivals, workshops and trainings.

	Annual Meetings [+ More info] We build the capacity of our grassroots network through technical training and leadership development at two annual meetings. The Annual Meeting of the Grupo Tortuguero, held every January in Loreto, is open to all community members, researchers, international partners and conservationists. This event has grown from 45 participants in 1999 to over 400 in 2007! The subsequent Monitoring Meeting of the Grupo Tortuguero, held each fall in a different community, brings together monitoring teams throughout the network to share and celebrate the work they are doing to preserve the world’s sea turtles.
	Connectivity Grants [+ More info] Through connectivity grants, we link community members throughout the Grupo Tortuguero by supporting individuals to travel to and work with other communities within the network. Connectivity grants strengthen the human connections that create the conservation network as well as enhance the work being done on the ground through the exchange of vital information and experiences.
	Fisher’s Exchange [+ More info] North Pacific loggerhead sea turtles nest in Japan and migrate the entire Pacific, passing Hawaii, to Mexico. They are endangered, and no more than a few thousand nest each year. To save this species, Pro Peninsula has brought together a tri-national group of fishermen, researchers and resource managers from Mexico, Japan and the U.S., to work towards reducing loggerhead bycatch. This tri-national group first gathered in November of 2006 in Japan and then again in August of 2007 in Mexico and Hawaii. With support from Pro Peninsula, participants work to strengthen strategic alliances, build new partnerships and increase understanding and awareness of the many challenges faced by these turtles.