The late environmentalist Jairo Mora was certainly one of the most celebrated and important persons in Costa Rica in 2013. His commitment to the protection of sea turtles in the Caribbean coast ended up claiming his life and left many people wondering what makes the Caribbean region of Costa Rica so different from Playa Rajada and Playa Ostional in Guanacaste, two peaceful communities united by their love of sea turtles.

Playa Ostional 

Playa Ostional is one of Costa Rica’s most renowned communities due to its people’s fierce commitment to the protection of sea turtles. This is where Jairo Mora learned the ropes of active nature conservation, and it is a community that is diametrically opposed to Playa Moin in Limon, which is where the young environmentalist was crudely murdered.

Jairo was warned by fellow environmentalist when he arrived to Playa Moin: “This is not Ostional.” What they meant is that the locals who jealously protect sea turtles in Playa Ostional do not have to worry about masked and armed thugs sweeping down the beaches and taking eggs from the nests. The laying, hatching and birthing of sea turtles are events celebrated by the community, who have learned the following that, if not for their conservation efforts, 70 to 90 percent of all eggs laid by the sea turtles will be lost. This is in great part due to natural loss; high concentrations of turtles will overstep others’ nests and destroy them, bacterial life in the beach sand will decay eggs prior to their hatching, and then there is also erosion to worry about.

The Ministry of the Environment in Costa Rica allows the organized taking of sea turtle eggs by the community as long as they protect them during nesting season and thus providing an opportunity for overlaying. They can only take during the first three days of the arrival and after a certain count has been exceeded. This taking accounts for one percent of the community’s annual gross domestic product, and it guarantees that more turtles will return each season.

Playa Rajada

Playa Rajada is located north of the touristy Playa Tamarindo, on the southern tip of Jobo Bay. This is where the Santa Elena Project recently held its annual Sea Turtle Festival, which is a community outreach event that seeks to create awareness about the multiple threats that tropical sea turtles face as they massively arrive during nesting season.

According to the Santa Elena Project, this festival has taken place over the last six years. The mission has always been to:

[bring] a number of activities to the local area, such as theater, music, dance, and other kinds of workshops that convey the importance of preserving marine environments, as well as culture and traditions of this Northern Guanacastecan county.

According to Julie Beck from the Santa Elena Project, this annual community festival features workshops, activities, live music, food, produce, handcrafts, and more. Many of the activities, such as the nighttime release of Chinese sky lanterns, are geared towards children, who are reminded that such an activity cannot take place during nesting season since sea turtles are bothered by illumination as they nest. As such, the festival takes place after nesting so that the turtles are not disturbed.

Interference Competition

As previously explained by the Costa Rica Star, there is a problem with community involvement in nature conservation efforts, particularly with regard to sea turtles. This has been studied in Playa Ostional, where wood storks are being deprived of eggs as their prey and thus are forced to seek food elsewhere, and in Tortuguero in the Caribbean, where protection of sea turtles is making jaguars afraid of heading down to the beach to feast during nesting season. A valid argument is that all wildlife species in Costa Rica are worth protecting, but sea turtles seem to be leading in that regard.