Challenges, opportunities and threats in the protection and conservation of sea turtles in Guerrero, Mexico
Keywords:
conservation, sex ratio, reproductive success, hatchling quality, mitigation strategiesAbstract
The protection and conservation of sea turtles in the state of Guerrero has more than 50 years of experience, however, currently no study has described the protection and conservation at the state level. The objective of this research was to identify future challenges, opportunities, and threats regarding the protection and conservation of sea turtles in Guerrero, Mexico. Twenty-four interviews with open (28) and closed (7) questions were conducted with personnel from government agencies, community actors and technical managers of turtle camps, during the year 2020 in the state of Guerrero. The questions are classified into four categories: 1) problems related to sea turtle conservation in Guerrero, 2) reproduction biology, 3) population ecology, and 4) conservation strategies. Through a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats), the strengths in the organization between turtle camps and government agencies were recorded; regarding opportunities, environmental education was produced, however this same shows weakness because it has little scope; Weaknesses were recorded in the lack of education, little research, lack of human and economic resources, absence of environmental information in the reports, disagreements with NOM-162 SEMARNAT, insecurity, lack of inspection, paperwork, permits and fines; finally, among the threats were natural disasters, anthropogenic impacts and insecurity. This investigation revealed that there are more weaknesses and threats than strengths and opportunities in sea turtle conservation at the state level. These results provide fundamental information to take measures in this regard, to improve the protection and conservation of sea turtles in the state of Guerrero.
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