Marine turtle conservation project in Côte d’Ivoire

Four of the seven species of marine turtles, (green turtle (Chelonia mydas, EN), leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea, VU), olive ridley turtle, (Lepidochelys olivacea, VU), and hawksbill turtle, (Eretmochelys imbricata, EN)), that exist in the world lay eggs on the beaches of the Bas Sassandra region, on the Ivorian west coast, 500 km from Abidjan. This is the most important nesting area in Ivory Coast and the most important in West Africa for the leatherback turtle, which last year recorded 259 nests.

Lagoons and coastal forests are home to a rich biodiversity: chimpanzees, (Pan troglodytes, EN), mona cercopithecus, (Cercopithecus mona, LC), van Beneden colobus, (Procolobus verus, NT), pangolins, (Manis gigantea, NT), etc., threatened by strong agricultural expansion, although the greatest threats are those to turtle populations, whose meat and eggs are eaten by the populations.

SOS-Dassioko is a local section of “SOS-Forêts”, representative of Birdlife in Ivory Coast ; the association was formed in 2006, and since 2010 has been dedicated to the conservation of marine turtles, with technical and financial support from the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The direct beneficiaries of the project are the communities of 3 villages, estimated at 2,800 people.