Turtles All The Way Down @ PPSR2012 @ 97th ESA in Portland, Oregon

(3.4) Wallace J. Nichols, Founder/Co-Director, Ocean Revolution; Research Associate, Department of Herpetology, California Academy of Sciences

TURTLES ALL THE WAY DOWN: GRASSROOTS NETWORKS, KNOWLEDGE AND COMMUNICATION LEADING TOWARDS A CONSERVATION SUCCESS STORY

In 1990 things were very bad for sea turtles in northwestern Mexico. The president had decreed a permanent moratorium on their hunting, collecting, use or sale but the black market filled the void due to a lack of enforcement and popular support. Experts agreed that it was too late for Baja’s sea turtles. Our academic advisors and funders suggested we not bother trying. Twenty years later we are telling a much different story. Sea turtles represent a rare bright spot on the conservation landscape, thanks to the innovative and sometimes controversial approach of the Grupo Tortuguero Network. Turtle hunters and consumers have taken on the role of researchers and protectors in fifty communities spanning 3,000 miles of coastline. While threats remain, populations are now increasing, dozens of community-based organizations are leading the way, and the Grupo Tortuguero network is holding its fifteenth annual meeting. At the core of these successes are an understanding of open-source movement building, neuroconservation and the value of emotional diversity. The model, known as the Conservation Mosaic, has been exported around the world to Cuba, Indonesia, El Salvador, Japan and Chile through a series of exchanges and consultations. Declaring this a conservation success story would be premature, but populations and attitudes are moving in the right direction: up.

Transcript

1. Turtles all the way down. Wallace J. Nichols, PhD Research Associate California Academy of Sciences wallacejnichols@me.com @wallacejnichols
2. turtles all the way down explanation
3. Turtles all the way up. Wallace J. Nichols, PhD Research Associate California Academy of Sciences wallacejnichols@me.com @wallacejnichols
7. baja sat image
8. Photo: Brian Skerry/National Geographic
9. “This is the region of the sea turtle.” John Steinbeck (1941)
10. Photo: Nichols/National Geographic
11. Photo: Inwater Research Group
12. “It’s too late.”
13. Photo: Neil Osborne
14. Adelita seaturtle.org
16. Conservation Mosaic Network Knowledge Communication (Nichols 2003)
17. Conservation Mosaic Relationships Understanding Sharing
18. Conservation Mosaic Relationships Understanding Sharing
19. Photo: GrupoTortuguero.org
20. Conservation Mosaic Relationships Understanding Sharing
21. Photo: EcoTortugueros/RED
22. earthwatch earthwatch.org
23. seeturtles.org
24. Scientific publications • Aquatic Conservation • Biological Conservation • BioMetals • Bulletin of Marine Science • Chelonian Conservation & Biol • Copeia • Deep Sea Research • EcoHealth • Endangered Species Research • Journal of Experimental Marine Biol • Journal of Herpetology • Marine Biology • Marine Ecology Progress Series • Marine Pollution Bulletin • Pacific Science • PLoS ONE
25. Conservation Mosaic Relationships Understanding Sharing
29. communications images
30. Lessons.
31. Conservation Mosaic Relationships Understanding Sharing
32. Relationships are key.
33. Seeing is believing.
34. Catalysts develop ideas, share them and lead by example.
35. With freedom, you get chaos ... and creativity.
36. Movements need a challenge, some fuel and a filter.
37. Fun.
38. Neuroconservation.
39. Photo: Matthew Godfrey
40. Photo: Brian Skerry/National Geographic
42. Photo: dolphinboyfilm.com
44. Photo: reefcentral.com