Ask Kenya to Protect Turtles, Not Illegal Development
- by: Judith B.
- recipient: Hon. Mohamed Najib Balala, Minister for Tourism, Kenya
Tourism is booming in Kenya, which is excellent news for the country's economy, or at least it could be. It is not only land animals that bring people in. Kenya's still beautiful beaches provide an essential nesting ground for critically endangered sea turtles.
Now, though, legal and illegal developments are springing up all along the coast, ruining turtle nesting grounds and spoiling what were once pristine beaches.
Turtles already face tremendous threats, from pollution, climate change, hunting, egg collection and plastic waste. The last thing they need is to lose yet more nesting grounds.
People are not going to visit a country to see turtles once there are no turtles left. Kenya needs to look after its ocean wildlife, as much for the sake of its own future economy as for the wildlife itself.
Ask the Kenyan Government to enforce marine protection legislation, crack down on illegal development and promote sustainable tourism before it's too late.
We the undersigned ask that you take measures to protect Kenya's beaches and ocean wildlife and enforce existing legislation.
Kenya's beaches are an essential nesting ground for marine turtles, which are seriously endangered. People come specifically to see the five species of turtles that visit Kenya, but illegal developments along the coast are putting them and other ocean wildlife in serious danger.
Kenya leads the way in conservation, and coastal habitats are just as important as those inland. An economically and ecologically valuable natural resource needs to be conserved, not allowed to disappear.
We ask that you prevent illegal development and implement marine conservation plans as a priority, and not leave them until it is too late.
