The challenge in the Caribbean Region is to ensure the survival of sea turtles, despite the disappearance of so many of their populations. To be successful in meeting this challenge, WIDECAST members meet annually to evaluate current national and regional programs and to set priorities for the coming year. These priorities may include habitat census and population monitoring, sector-specific training, the development of standard guidelines and protocols, reporting tools to ensure data compatibility amongst projects, public outreach and education initiatives, etc.
Sea turtles cannot be managed through the heroic efforts of one or two range States alone. Their survival depends on management decisions made by dozens of range States spread over millions of square miles of the Greater Atlantic basin every year. Without an annual forum to evaluate successes (and failures) and agree on shared tasks and priorities, the network would be unable to preside over such a broad mandate. For this reason, WIDECAST Country Coordinators have been meeting at least annually for more than three decades!
For more information, please contact WIDECAST’s Executive Director at keckert@widecast.org.