CHURAMURA Sea Turtle Conservation Okinawa ちゅらむら沖縄ウミガメ保全活動 NPO団体

NPO Churamura is requesting support to continue Sea Turtle Conservation activities throughout the Okinawa region.

Churamura was founded in early summer of 2020. As an after-effect of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the subsequent decrease in tourism to Okinawa, there was a bloom of turtle nesting activity, first noticed along Uza Beach in Yomitan Village.

We erected fences to protect these nests, and the area saw more turtles born than in many years previous, we assume because of the lack of traffic along the beach, and the fact that marine sports in the adjacent lagoon had slowed with the lack of tourism.

The protection of these nests, and our first summer with the turtles quickly evolved into an island wide movement, and the variety of programs that define Churamura today.

The past 3 years has seen a surge in nesting activity along the Central Western coastline of the main island due to the positive effects of the COVID pandemic & reduction in tourism.

Only one in a thousand turtles survive the journey from hatching to adulthood, so they can use all the help they can get, We’ve had nests too close to the shoreline and seen others in vulnerable locations destroyed by typhoons. Relocating the nest is a very slow, difficult process. Eggs have to be marked, numbered and put back in the same order or they won’t hatch. Churamura conducts monthly beach cleans at different locations throughout the island to clear the beaches of dangerous debris. They visit schools as part of their community outreach program and talk to students about turtle conservation. They also are starting up an Ocean Rangers program to educate youth about SDGs (sustainable development goals), being environmentally conscious and teaching them valuable ocean skills and responsibility.

About 80% of the turtles hatch if we protect the nest—safe from typhoons, camp fires, 4WDs and crabs getting into the nests. Twenty percent need help, which we can provide by nurturing them until they are big enough to avoid predators in the water, such as mahi-mahi which can devour a whole nest of hatchlings as they start their long journey across the pacific.

With inbound tourism resuming, we must take measures to mitigate the impending impact on nesting habitats. Donations will go towards equipment, infrastructure, education programs, research while allowing us to continue to share these special moments with you the public.

Over the next five years we plan to create a turtle rescue center that will serve as a hatchery and rehab center. We also hope to help create a ranger network similar to the National Park and Wildlife Service with the power to enforce fines for littering and poaching, and maintaining coastal cleanliness. Ultimately Churamura’s mission is to create the first marine sanctuary dedicated to the protection of critically endangered sea turtles in Japan. It may seem like a long shot, but it is nothing compared to the odds the sea turtles face year after year.
NPO団体「美ら村」では　沖縄県本当の中西部沿海でウミガメの保護活動を継続するために支援をお願いしています。

活動開始してこの3年間は新型コロナウイルスによるパンデミックの影響と観光客の減少により中西部の海岸においてウミガメによる産卵が急増しています。

次年度にはインバウンドによる観光の本格再開が予定されており
ウミガメの巣に差し迫る様々な影響を緩和するため、今から対策を行わなければなりません。
寄付金は設備、インフラ、教育プログラム、研究のために
そしてこれらの特別な瞬間を一般の皆様と共有し続けることができるよう活用させて頂きます。