Justine Hausheer/TNC The leatherback turtle Ghase Taigo (“woman who protects and provides care,” locally) as she returns to the ocean after nesting on Haevo in the Solomon Islands. The Nature Conservancy is supporting community efforts in Isabel Province to protect the critically endangered Western Pacific subpopulation of leatherback turtles, the world’s largest species of turtle. The largest leatherback nesting population in Solomon Islands occurs on sandy beaches like Haevo that line Isabel Province. TNC trains and engages community monitors to support these conservation efforts, including training and contracting the first women rangers in Solomon Islands.
A new study from The Nature Conservancy (TNC) shows that a community-led conservation effort, supported by TNC, is leading to the recovery of a critically endangered nesting population of Western Pacific Leatherback turtles.
Evidence reveals that the decline of one of the world’s most threatened sea turtle populations can be reversed, with the number of leatherback nests at Haevo beach that has been monitored and protected for over a decade, increasing by approximately 10% a year since continuous protection began.
Yet the species remains critically threatened, with fewer than 100 nesting turtles expected to remain by 2040 without continued intervention.
The study shows that an estimated 381 leatherback turtles nest at four nesting beaches in the Solomon Islands that are currently being monitored and protected by local community rangers, including some of the country’s first female conservation rangers.
Satellite-tracking showed that around 90% of turtles that nest during the Australian summer migrate south towards Australia and New Zealand, where they are often accidently captured in commercial longline fisheries; demonstrating the need for Pacific-wide protection and conservation efforts.
About the research
For more than a decade, TNC has worked alongside local communities to protect nesting beaches including Haevo and Sasakolo, where rangers patrol and protect nests, monitor turtle behaviour and collect data to better understand the population.
Local women are playing an increasingly important role in these efforts. Since 2021, more than 20 local Solomon Islands women have been trained and employed as rangers through the support of TNC. The program is also creating income and leadership opportunities, giving women a greater voice in decisions about the natural resources their communities depend on.
The program and research findings demonstrates TNC’s 2030 conservation vision in action, bringing together local leadership, gender equity and science to help safeguard one of the Pacific’s most endangered marine species.
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