On Friday, May 31st, while returning from a long
night walking a turtle nesting beach near the city of Limón, young Costa Rican
conservationist Jairo Mora Sandoval was abducted by unknown assailants, beaten
and murdered. The beach where Mora Sandoval worked is a hot spot for nesting by
the critically endangered leatherback, but also well-known for poaching and as
a transfer point for drugs entering Costa Rica. This beach has now become a
flash point for the direction that Costa Rica will go as a country.
The brave young man had recently spoken out to the media and
on social media about the lack of government support for the conservationists
on this beach. With a Ministry of Environment tolerant
of the illegal trade in sea turtle eggs, and without effective enforcement over
a flourishing black market, efforts
by local Police and Coast Guard have routinely fallen short of what is needed
to safeguard people working tirelessly to protect the nation’s natural
treasures. It was in this context that a small group of conservationists were
left on their own against the poachers and drug runners. They had received
threats, but never thought their work to protect endangered turtles would
result in a tragedy like this.
I spent two years of my life walking Costa Rica’s turtle
beaches. I know what it’s like to be in the dark, with little to defend
yourself. I worked for the same organization that Jairo worked for, learning
from Didiher Chacón, Country Coordinator and Director of Latin American
Programs for the Wider
Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network (WIDECAST) and one of the
country’s leading conservationists. I never felt threatened on those beaches,
but that experience was challenging enough, dealing with rain, insects, and
more to make sure the nests were protected.
Costa Rica is known around the world as the place where
ecotourism was born. The country has beautiful beaches, lush tropical forests, and
the most species of wildlife per kilometer in the world according to some. Sea
turtles are a main attraction, nesting on dozens of beaches on both coasts and attracting
thousands of people each year to see them nesting. Hundreds of people come to
volunteer annually on these beaches without incident, spending their time,
money, and sweat with the goal of contributing to the conservation of these
incredible animals.
The volunteers and travelers that come to these beaches are
critical, now more than ever, to the success of efforts to protect sea turtles
in Costa Rica and around the world. The heavy lifting of turtle conservation
work in Costa Rica is not done by the government. Instead, dozens of non-profit
organizations toil long hours, for very little income, to make sure the eggs,
meat, and shells are not collected for sale on the black market. Rarely do the
police, Coast Guard, or rangers from the Ministry of the Environment walk the
beaches or enforce the laws. Poachers are caught red-handed and go without
prosecution. Fortunately, most of the country’s nesting beaches do not have the
danger of Moin Beach and conservationists and volunteers can safely walk the
beach without worry of danger.
When the government of Costa Rica spends millions of dollars
to market itself as a wildlife paradise but next to nothing to protect that
wildlife, will the volunteers and tourists still come? President Chinchilla
must show the world that they will not stand silent when the people most
dedicated to protecting the country’s natural resources are cut down for
speaking out. Jairo’s family – and his many friends and colleagues – will never
be the same, but some good can come from this. The government can name Moin
Beach a National Park in his honor, securing this beach for both the turtles
and the conservationists and taking away an entry point for drugs.
Each of us who shares Jairo’s passion for biodiversity
conservation work can help to ensure that the world never forgets his
contribution to Costa Rica’s sea turtles.
