Amazon: from poachers to volunteers saving freshwater turtles

By Andressa Collet

The flesh and the eggs of Amazonian chelonians, like that of turtles and tracajás (yellow-spotted Amazon River turtles), have always been highly valued by humans and are part of the diet of the "ribeirinhos" (river dwellers) as an important source of protein, especially during the dry season of the rivers. The problem is not so much in their consumption for subsistence purposes, but in poaching, illegal trade and sale in the region's large urban centers, such as Manaus, Santarém, Belém and Tefé. A barbaric and systematic practice developed by chelonian traffickers, which threatens the species with extinction and causes the destruction of their natural habitat.

An initiative developed in the states of Amazonas and Pará has sought to raise awareness about the need to protect and conserve these species, saving them from poachers. The environmental "Pé-de-Pincha" project is a community management program for chelonians, based on the work of volunteers and managed by the Federal University of Amazonas (UFAM), in collaboration with the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) which, in 22 years of activity, has already released 6 million baby chelonians into the territory throughout an area divided into 18 municipalities: 15 in the State of Amazonas, 3 in the State of Pará, inhabited comprehensively by 122 different communities.

Lesson at a school in the Lake Mamori community in Amazonas.

Conservation and community management of the species

Chelonians are part of the reptile family to which both marine and freshwater turtles belong. These animals are easily recognizable because they have a carapace, a type of bony shell, that protects them from predators. Currently, there are more than 250 species of chelonians. But the protagonists of our story are the "bichos de casco", as they are called in the region, popularly known as "tracajás": turtles that can live up to 90 years. They are oviparous animals that lay an average of 15-30 eggs each time they reproduce. They usually dig holes on the shores of lakes, camouflaging the nest with mud and leaves. And that's where the "ribeirinhos", volunteers and partners of the "Pé-de-Pincha" project are involved to save the species.

Established in 1999 in the city of Terra Santa, Pará, to protect Lake Piraracá from the invasion of boats and large fishing nets, the "Pé-de-Pincha" project involves communities in all phases of the process, after a period of training and practice, offered by the university: trainers and community members together identify holes, monitor and collect eggs in their natural habitat, and transfer nests from threatened to protected areas, in a kind of nursery, an improvised incubator in the sand  close to the homes of residents of the area - where the nestlings manage to grow big enough so they are not easy prey. After they are hatched, they are released into the lakes amid the joy and celebration of the entire community.

Collecting nests to take to protected areas in Barreirinha, in Amazonas

Nilcinha de Jesus Amaral Ferreira is a volunteer environmental agent. She explains that that the volunteers go out as early as 3 am in the morning, "armed" with Styrofoam boxes, to look for eggs. There are about 28,000 others who are part of the "Pé-de-Pincha", which over the years has become the largest volunteer project in all of Amazonia. What you witness in these places is a real transformation that starts at home and extends to friends, parishes and schools, until it reaches the ears of poachers. Nilcinha says "That's what happened with my husband: he was one of the poachers and now he's one of the greatest custodians of this area. As we say here, “he really put his shirt on”, that is, he became aware and was able to sensitize so many people! We have realized and are trying to show the community that the same kind of conservation and management of chelonians can be done for fish and plants as well. And so, we have already reduced fires and deforestation, as well as local timber extraction."

The Church, historical partner of the project

Professor Paulo Cesar Machado Andrade, from the Federal University of Amazonas, coordinator of "Pé-de-Pincha," explains that in addition to the partnership with the institution that trains new students each year to work in the program, the Church has had and continues to have a fundamental, historical role. It has been at the forefront in conservation efforts since the beginning, in the 1990s, when it managed to reach out to as many communities as possible engaging with them and encouraging them to get involved in protecting the tracajás.

University student teaches a resident how to transplant nests in the Igapó Açu

"The program," the professor explains, "also served to build a bridge, a connection to discuss all the environmental problems the region suffers from while looking for sustainable alternatives to generate income. This is because "Pé-de-Pincha" works on the conservation of natural resources, but also on the environmental awareness of communities, for a sustainable development "that is not only ecologically correct, but also economically sustainable and socially just." In addition, "Pé-de-Pincha" also trains teachers in the field of environmental education through "a collaborative monitoring research and community action project."

This vision of integral ecology is what the Pontiff calls for: "we believe there is a deep connection with what Pope Francis expressed in the encyclical Laudato si'. Not only to see the animal, the river, the tree as separate elements within nature, but above all as part of a much larger chain that makes it possible to maintain life on the Planet thanks to this integral vision."

A resident of Terra Santa, Pará tagging an adult turtle

The ecology of daily life in Amazonia

"This is our contribution to the environment," says Nilcinha, who is seen as a "sower of chelonians." She expresses her agreement with the Pope's thoughts regarding the need for urgent efforts "to bring about an integral improvement in the quality of human life" through the environments in which we live that "influence the way we think, feel and act" (Laudato si' 147). Nilcinha also believes that the pandemic has further highlighted the reflection on the need to improve our relationship with the environment.

Finally, Professor Paulo adds, "the project started in a hidden corner of the Amazon and slowly grew and found avenues, partners who could help, community members, workers who happy to dedicate themselves to this goal, students who joyfully enrich the project even in the face of so many conflicting situations regarding the environment. 'Pé-de-Pincha' has always tried to work with enthusiasm for our Common Home and for the Creator. This is what drives us! This is what makes us strive to meet the needs of those who turn to us. This is our mission, not only to be a 'conservation' program, but to try to assist, give ears and a voice to those communities of 'ribeirinhos' who come to us and want to help our land regain its beauty."

The Igapó Açu community celebrates the release of chelonian offspring into the wild