Good news for biodiversity conservation: the Amazon turtle population is growing! According to research published in the journal Nature Sustainability, there are now nine times more turtles being born on Amazon beaches than in 1977.
The research was based on 15 protected beaches on the Juruá River, one of the major tributaries of the Amazon River and the basis of the Médio Juruá Territory Program, coordinated by Sitawi. We spoke with João Vitor Campos e Silva, one of the people responsible for the research and the Study of the Hydrological Regime of the Médio Juruá Basin, to understand how conservation actions in the region, the participation of riverside communities and the incentives for targeted projects impact this growth. Check out the interview:
1) According to research published in Nature Sustainability, today there are nine times more turtles being born on the beaches of the Amazon than in 1977. How are local populations involved in the development of sustainable production chains?
Amazonian turtles have centuries-old cultural importance for indigenous and non-indigenous riverside communities. Due to high exploitation, populations have suffered a dramatic decline, becoming extinct in many locations.
Community protection of nesting beaches has been largely responsible for the recovery of the turtle population. On protected beaches, human predation of eggs and females is only 2%. On unprotected beaches, predation reaches 99%.
It is worth noting that it is not just turtles that benefit from protection, but a varied group that makes up the Amazon biodiversity, including alligators, large catfish, iguanas, migratory birds and even invertebrates.
The importance of community protection is a pattern that is repeated for practically all management activities. Community leadership is truly a central element for the ecological sustainability of production chains.
2) What is the impact of this? baby boom for the conservation of Amazonian species?
The impact of high production of offspring is the chance of population recovery. The important thing is that the entry of offspring into the adult population is always greater than the exit of adult individuals, slaughtered for consumption.
3) The Médio Juruá Territory Program has supported turtle conservation through the training of Volunteer Environmental Agents and actions to support beach surveillance. How important is institutional support like this for the development of production chains in the region?
Local organizations and rural communities have worked hard to ensure the continuity of the program every year. Therefore, support of this nature is essential, as it ensures the maintenance of the activity. However, it is also important to emphasize that we need more permanent sources of funding that can actually increase the financial reward of this program. A good prospect is this experiment in managing the chicks, which can really consolidate an income opportunity in the long term.
4) The TMJ Program also includes studies on the hydrological regime of the Middle Juruá Basin over the next 22 months. How can this study contribute to the conservation of turtles?
In this work, we will have the opportunity to assess the impact of extreme events on turtle reproduction. What happens when the river dries up too quickly? What is the importance of large floods? These are fundamental questions for turtle conservation that will be addressed in this work. In addition, we will attempt to estimate the mortality of hatchlings due to rapid and unexpected river rises. This will be essential for developing adaptive strategies that mitigate the effects of global changes on this important resource.
5) In 2018, you received 1st place in the Master and Doctor category of the Young Scientist award, with work on the sustainable management of Pirarucu. How can sustainable value chains conserve biodiversity and promote social development in the region?
The only way we can truly make progress in conserving the Amazon is by creating sustainable pathways where rural communities are the protagonists of the process. Rural communities are fundamental in protecting forests, and sociobiodiversity production chains are the best strategy we have to align conservation with rural development.
Turtle management is part of a broader framework aimed at the sustainable development of the Médio Juruá region, which includes successful production chains such as the management of pirarucu, oilseeds and açaí. Community arrangements, in which riverside dwellers play a leading role in development, have been successfully used in the Amazon region, providing positive and lasting results. Learn about one of the actions of the Médio Juruá Territory Program: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvhSpJ-ycFE
Check out the main results of the survey, carried out and published in the journal Nature Sustainability, at: https://youtu.be/q0Th6O39qUo. The article can be accessed at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-018-0170-5
