Already in 2019 we reported about the efforts of Ghanaian people to protect the sea turtles and their eggs at the beach of Kokrobite. Michael Kreuzberg had seen the admirable activities of Emmanuel and his friend Enoch at that time and was enthusiastic. The idea for a larger project was born, for which among others the University of Ghana Legon with its marine biology department showed interest. The English NGO Global Vision International (GVI) Ghana also showed interest. It has an office in Kokrobite and organizes social and environmental projects in the country from there.
After two years of Corona constraint, Michael was finally able to travel to Ghana again in October 2022 and make the idea a reality. On Oct. 13, 2022, GVI hosted a meeting of all parties involved:
- Local fishermen representatives,
- Marine biologist Dr. Andrew Agyekumhene of the University of Ghana Legon, leading Ghanaian specialist for such projects (https://www.whroghana.org/personnel/andrews-agyekumhene/)
- Representatives of the Ministry of Fisheries,
- GVI representatives and other participants.
From November to December 2022, initial inspections of the affected sections of the beach will take place to get an overview. In parallel, four young people from fishing villages will receive training in recognizing and classifying turtle activity and then participate in the monitoring walks, which will take place five nights a week. A plan for next steps will then be put in place. The plan is to work on campaigns in schools and for the local community. If all goes well, in one to two years people there should be earning money with "turtle watching" tours for tourists instead of eating turtles and their eggs. This first phase will be financed exclusively by donations.
