Adopt A Nest

A thoughtful gift for yourself or a loved one — and a powerful act of support for a species in need. Your support a will allow you to symbolically adopt an endangered and relocated sea turtle nest.

Adopt now

Adopt a Sea Turtle Nest

Adopting an entire sea turtle nest is one of the most meaningful ways to support the work of Project Biodiversity in Sal, Cabo Verde! Your donation will allow you to symbolically adopt an entire nest from our Sea Turtle Conservation Hatcheries for yourself or a loved one.

You chose what you would like to have written on the adoption plaque. Once we have relocated your endangered nest into our sea turtle conservation, we will send you your first photo of your adopted nest with your personalised plaque placed on it and your official personalised adoption certification, which you can view here!

Once your nest has hatched, we will send you another email with information about the success of your nest, with a photo of your nest and some of the hatchlings.

It is a beautiful gift for yourself or family and friends that supports the conservation work for the endangered sea turtles of Sal

4cf219_f691b0e7d78b4e8783970cc84974bdfa~mv2_d_3078_2199_s_2.jpg

How to Adopt a Sea Turtle Nest with Project Biodiversity

Adopting a nest is easy: first, fill out the form below. After submitting it, you will be sent to a new page, where you will find the different options for making your donation. There is no fixed amount chosen, as we want to give everybody the opportunity to choose. For the nests we are asking for a minimum donation of 50€.

Adopt a Sea Turtle Nest

Why You Should Support Project Biodiversity and Sea Turtle Conservation

Immediate action is crucial. The latest projections from the IUCN Red Listing present a grim reality: Six of seven sea turtle species are on the brink of extinction or are endangered or significantly threatened.

By adopting a sea turtle, you become crucial in our quest to protect these beautiful creatures and the precious habitats in Cabo Verde they visit to nest. Your support helps ensure their survival for generations to come.

Sea turtles are a keystone species, meaning they are imperative for health and balance in our oceans as prey and consumers, competitors, and hosts. The effect on marine ecosystems worldwide would significantly weaken if they went extinct.

Yet these essential creatures face numerous threats to their survival, threatening the very fabric of the ocean ecosystems in which they live and their survival as a species.

Who we are

Sea Turtles Face Many Serious Threats in Cabo Verde

The sub-population of loggerheads we find in Cabo Verde is considered one of the 11 most endangered sea turtle populations worldwide. Currently, the biggest threats to sea turtles include habitat loss, plastic pollution, climate change, entanglement (in fishing gear), invasive predators, and poaching for meat and eggs.

Plastic Pollution

Sea Turtles often become entangled in discarded and lost fishing nets, and they struggle to swim, resulting in drowning.
The micro and macro plastic pollution they ingest causes long-term health issues, affecting their growth and reproduction.
Marine pollution on the beach also reduces the chances of baby turtles safely escaping from the nest and heading to the sea.

This crisis isn't just in Sal; it's global. Sea turtles are in danger from the Caribbean to the Pacific due to plastic pollution, impacting entire marine ecosystems.

Entanglement

A significant portion of ocean plastic pollution comes from abandoned, lost, and discarded fishing gear, known as ghost nets. These deadly traps entangle and kill countless marine animals each year, including sea turtles. Around the islands, sea turtles are often found entangled in these nets. Sometimes, we reach them in time to free them, though often with injuries. Tragically, in many cases, they are already lost—succumbing to starvation, drowning, or predators before help can arrive.

Invasive Predators

Due to invasive predators and other threats, only about 1 in 1,000 sea turtle hatchlings are estimated to survive to adulthood.
Invasive predators, often introduced by humans as pets or pests, are the main drivers of biodiversity loss, especially in small islands. In Sal, hundreds of sea turtle nests are dug up by stray dogs every year, while cats and dogs eat the newborn turtles. Generations of stray dogs have become wild dogs and have learned to attack nesting loggerhead turtles, killing or fatally injuring them while nesting.

Poaching

Despite laws protecting sea turtles, there is still much poaching in and around Cabo Verde. Illegal poaching persists, fueled by demand for sea turtle products. This exploitation severely disrupts populations, depleting the number of nesting females and reducing the amount of baby turtles and, therefore, the future of the population.
In Cabo Verde, the traditional consumption of sea turtle meat leads to the tragic loss of hundreds of these endangered creatures every year in the different islands.

Climate change

Warming ocean temperatures due to climate change are devastating sea turtle populations in several ways: altered migration patterns expose them to new threats, rising seas and hotter sand destroy nesting beaches and skew sex ratios, degraded coral reefs and seagrass habitats reduce food sources, and increased disease weakens their immune systems. Climate change is exposing sea turtles to many threats in all stages of their life cycle, making it increasingly difficult for them to survive and reproduce.

Urgent action is needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect remaining sea turtle populations.

Our Approach to Sea Turtle Conservation

Cabo Verde is among the top three largest nesting sites worldwide for loggerheads (Florida and Oman are the other two). That's why we take great care as an organisation to protect the sea turtles that come here to nest.

Our work

Here are some of the activities we are involved in to ensure the protection of sea turtles in Cabo Verde:

Creating safe turtle nesting zones around nesting beaches.
Monitoring nesting beaches through beach patrols
Monitoring and studying the nesting population of adult females
Monitoring and studying nests and hatchlings
Educating and raising awareness locally and internationally
Cleaning beaches
Lobbying for sustainable practices within the tourism sector

How Your Donations Help

Adopt a Sea Turtle Nest

Our sea turtle conservation efforts depend on our staff and volunteers' incredible dedication and your generosity in donations. Your contributions provide the essential resources that allow us to protect these magnificent creatures and their habitats, ensuring our work can continue through the employment of local staff strengthening Sal’s economy.
Without your support, our mission would not be possible.

Adopt a Sea Turtle Nest

Thank You For Your Support!

For any queries, questions, or requests regarding your donation, please don’t hesitate to contact us at supportus@projectbiodiversity.org.

Or stop by and see your adopted sea turtle nest in our Sea Turtle Conservation Hatchery!

Adopt A Nest

Adopt a Sea Turtle Nest

Once your nest has hatched, we will send you another email with information about the success of your nest, with a photo of your nest and some of the hatchlings. It is a beautiful gift for yourself or family and friends that supports the conservation work for the endangered sea turtles of Sal

How to Adopt a Sea Turtle Nest with Project Biodiversity

Why You Should Support Project Biodiversity and Sea Turtle Conservation

Sea Turtles Face Many Serious Threats in Cabo Verde

Plastic Pollution

Our Approach to Sea Turtle Conservation

Cabo Verde is among the top three largest nesting sites worldwide for loggerheads (Florida and Oman are the other two). That's why we take great care as an organisation to protect the sea turtles that come here to nest.

Here are some of the activities we are involved in to ensure the protection of sea turtles in Cabo Verde:

How Your Donations Help

Thank You For Your Support!

For any queries, questions, or requests regarding your donation, please don’t hesitate to contact us at supportus@projectbiodiversity.org. Or stop by and see your adopted sea turtle nest in our Sea Turtle Conservation Hatchery!

Once your nest has hatched, we will send you another email with information about the success of your nest, with a photo of your nest and some of the hatchlings.

It is a beautiful gift for yourself or family and friends that supports the conservation work for the endangered sea turtles of Sal

For any queries, questions, or requests regarding your donation, please don’t hesitate to contact us at supportus@projectbiodiversity.org.

Or stop by and see your adopted sea turtle nest in our Sea Turtle Conservation Hatchery!