Sea Turtle Conservation in Sri Lanka: How to Engage With It the Right Way

Sri Lanka's beaches are nesting sites for five of the seven species of sea turtle in the world. The green turtle, the leatherback, the loggerhead, the hawksbill, and the Olive Ridley all use Sri Lankan beaches at various times of year and the conservation work that protects these nesting sites has been one of the more successful wildlife protection stories in the Indian Ocean region.

The Rekawa Turtle Conservation Project near Tangalle is the most established community-based turtle protection programme on the island. Local community members monitor the beach at night during nesting season from March through August, protect nests from predation and poaching, and guide small groups of visitors to observe nesting females under carefully managed conditions. The project is genuinely community-led and the income from visitor fees goes directly to the families involved.

What responsible turtle watching looks like: a small group, maximum six people, with a trained guide who decides whether and when to approach a nesting turtle. No torches, no flash photography, no noise. Complete deference to the guide's instructions. A nesting female green turtle, emerging from the sea at night and moving up the beach to dig her nest, is a creature in the most vulnerable moment of her reproductive cycle. The experience of witnessing it from the correct distance and with the correct stillness is extraordinary. The experience of disturbing her is something she cannot afford.