Collective Actions for Improving the Conservation Status of the EU Sea Turtle Populations – LIFE EUROTURTLES
Two species of sea turtles permanently inhabit the Mediterranean Sea – the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) and the green turtle (Chelonia mydas). The loggerhead turtle is particularly numerous in the northern Adriatic.
Since sea turtles are globally endangered species, the Croatian Natural History Museum, the Blue World Institute from Croatia and seven partners from five EU countries, Italy, Cyprus, Greece, Slovenia and Malta, are carrying out a project entitled “Collective Actions for Improving the Conservation Status of the EU Sea Turtle Populations – LIFE EUROTURTLES”.
The project, with a total value of 5.1 million euros and co-financed by the European Union through the LIFE financial instrument, began in autumn 2016 and runs until the end of 2021.
The conservation and protection activities carried out through this project are designed to address the most significant threats in specific areas and countries, and together they enable the protection of sea turtles throughout their entire range.
One of the main activities in all countries involved in the project is raising public awareness of the need to conserve sea turtles and the marine environment.
For this purpose, Assoc. Prof. Draško Holcer, PhD, senior curator of the Croatian Natural History Museum, together with expert collaborators Assoc. Prof. Bojan Lazar, PhD, and Paolo Casale, PhD, created the travelling exhibition “Protection of European Sea Turtles”, which through 16 panels presents the life of sea turtles in the Mediterranean and Adriatic and the threats they face.
The exhibition has so far been hosted at numerous locations in Croatia and is currently on display at the Natural History Museum in Dubrovnik.