Vanina off to Nicaragua to help protect sea turtles
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9 Dec 2024
Vanina spent three months in Nicaragua, on Isla los Brasiles, a small island near Léon. The internship combined wildlife protection work with the development of a mobile application, as part of her second year of an engineering course specializing in Industrial Digital Systems. Her experience as a volunteer with the social enterprise Sos Nicaragua led her to play a key role in sea turtle conservation, while dealing with complex local realities and environmental challenges.
Two missions, one project : sea turtle conservation and the creation of a mobile application
Isla los Brasiles, although just a few dozen kilometers from Léon, is still a difficult place to get to. Vanina had to take a bus and then a local boat to reach the island. Living conditions on the island are rudimentary, with few services and a population largely dependent on fishing and hunting for survival.
Vanina took part in both sea turtle conservation missions and the development of a mobile application to collect data in the field. One of her main missions was to patrol the beach every morning, looking for turtle nests. These nests, often stolen by poachers, were also monitored and protected by Sos Nicaragua. At the same time, Vanina worked on the creation of an application to facilitate the collection and analysis of data on the island’s nests and biodiversity.
Challenges in the field : poaching and balance with the locals
Poaching remains a major problem on the island. Turtle nests are often stolen to be sold on the black market, despite Sos Nicaragua’s efforts to protect them. According to Vanina, poaching eggs is one of the few sources of income for some families. Sos Nicaragua tries to raise awareness among the local population by exchanging found nests for a small contribution, in order to save the eggs while providing financial aid.
At night, volunteers like Vanina also monitor the beaches, sometimes scouring the entire beach in search of new turtles coming to lay their eggs. Once the eggs have been collected, they are carefully transported to a nursery to protect them from excessively high temperatures, which may prevent the embryos from developing properly.
An island of solidarity : the strength of the local community
Vanina also emphasizes the solidarity that exists among the island’s inhabitants. Although the island is isolated and it is difficult to quantify the population, families often live self-sufficiently, sharing resources and know-how. The children, despite the distance and difficulties of access to school, do their best to go to town and study. This culture of community and mutual aid is an essential aspect of life on the island.
The development of a mobile application : a technological project in the service of conservation
The development of the mobile application was one of Vanina’s key projects during her internship. With previous experience in Windows application development, she had to adapt to a new framework to create a mobile application designed to collect data on sea turtles. The main challenge was to design a solution adapted to the difficult conditions on the island, with an unstable internet connection and the absence of certain infrastructures.
Not only did the application have to work offline to record data, it also had to be able to synchronize the information with a shared table once the connection had been re-established. Another crucial aspect of the application was the customization of the data collected according to the variables specific to each field situation. Vanina devised a system enabling volunteers, who often had no programming skills, to manage variables without touching the code, thus simplifying their day-to-day management.
A first application to protect sea turtles in Central America
This application represents a major step forward in the management of sea turtle conservation projects in Central America. Although the project is not entirely finished and can still be perfected, it has been a first in its category. Vanina’s objective was to enable teams in the field to better understand and document turtle behavior, which is crucial to their conservation.
Despite her enthusiasm for this application, Vanina will not be able to actively pursue this project from a distance due to her school commitments. However, she hopes that someone will take up the torch to finalize and improve the application.
Vanina’s sea turtle conservation project has not only provided practical and innovative solutions to an environmental problem, but has also enabled the development of the first mobile application dedicated to sea turtle data management in Central America. It represents a major step towards the dematerialization and centralization of data collection, facilitating the work of volunteers in difficult field conditions. Vanina, proud of her achievement, hopes that the project will continue thanks to future collaborators.
