Muscat – Environment Authority (EA) has launched the second edition of the ‘Turtle Commandos’ programme, a project to protect endangered turtles and preserve Oman’s biodiversity.

The programme aims to encourage youth to volunteer for environmental causes, rid beaches of fishing and plastic waste, implement workshops to find solutions to challenges that threaten turtles, educate participants about the importance of turtles and in turn transfer the knowledge to the community.

The second edition of the programme will last for six months, with the participation of a group of volunteers every week from different governorates. ‘They will participate in a unique and enriching experience by protecting turtles, educating visitors and deterring violators,’ EA stated.

Participants will be spread across two locations in Ras al Hadd and Masirah Island, during the turtle nesting and hatching seasons.

During the first edition, which was conducted over three months from mid-October to mid-January, Turtle Commandos succeeded in guiding 19,732 turtles back into the sea after losing their way.

Additionally, commandos collected 8,242 bags of garbage and denied entry to 8,549 cars at night into Ras al Hadd Nature Reserve.

Following the travel restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and consequently the challenges faced by foreign tourists in visiting Oman, domestic tourism flourished. This led to crowding at turtle sanctuaries with a large number of visitors eager to watch turtles nest and baby turtles hatch without knowledge of the guidelines and laws of the reserve.

“Without observers to monitor these large crowds, there was no control and protection for turtles in the reserve in the last two years,” an EA official said, explaining what led to setting up the commandos programme. “Turtle Commandos will find effective solutions to meet this challenge.”