Respect for La Tortuga Island is also respect for the ecological and human history of the country

Inventories and new records of birds, morphological analysis of vegetation, monitoring and study of sea turtle populations, clear identification of problems that threaten the various species, and surveys on marine sponges, algae, and corals, are part of the advances of the Biological and Oceanographic Characterization project that La Tortuga Foundation has been carrying out for several years in the Federal Unit La Tortuga Island, in order to understand the ecological dynamics of the place and preserve it, not for a whim or simple scenic delight, but for its high environmental value as a biosphere reserve.


Inventories and new records of birds, morphological analysis of vegetation, monitoring and study of sea turtle populations, clear identification of problems that threaten the various species, and surveys on marine sponges, algae, and corals, are part of the advances of the Biological and Oceanographic Characterization project that La Tortuga Foundation has been carrying out for several years in the Federal Unit La Tortuga Island, in order to understand the ecological dynamics of the place and preserve it, not for a whim or simple scenic delight, but for its high environmental value as a biosphere reserve.

In terms of biodiversity, very little was known about La Tortuga and each advance has filled the institution with great satisfaction and encouragement to continue its fieldwork, despite the limitations of resources and the lack of interest of some sectors in the study and conservation of the environment.

La Tortuga Island is a paradise that, although quite inhospitable, serves as a home for its species and as a hotel for many other migratory species. Its skies are crossed by birds that come from North America and head towards the southern cone, but it also has striking endemic species that create a unique nature. On the other hand, those cacti that are dodged when walking, often have rich information about ecological communities, and their existence is not isolated, they are part of a chain that man must respect. From leaves, branches, trunks, and stems more and more medicines are created and their studies are permanent. The same is true of marine sponges. Corals, on the other hand, are perhaps the best catalysts to know the state of conservation of an underwater region, and sea turtles, which have inhabited the earth for some 10 million years, probably know more about the planet than humans themselves. Their underwater promenades also maintain a balance that man must respect.

The biological diversity of La Tortuga Island is the result of millions of years of evolution and its existence is possibly due to the ancestral earth movement that originated the Cariaco basin to the south of the Federal Dependence. In its lands was found the oldest human skeleton found in the country and its pale sands harbor traces that narrate the history of the stay, more than 200 years ago, of indigenous groups, Dutch and English adventurers.

The defense of these lands transcends from a net whim to the need to preserve the ecological, human, and even military national history, as a testimony of where we come from, of what we are today, as well as a clue of how we can stay longer and with quality on the planet. It is increasingly necessary to support environmental initiatives that benefit the permanence of man on earth and finally understand that he is part of nature, not its owner.

Press La Tortuga Foundation - Alejandra Villegas

Photography: José Voglar