The Olive Ridley Sea Turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea), known locally in Central America as the Parlama, Paslama or Lora, inhabits the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. Its foraging grounds extend westwards into the Ocean from the Central American coasts, out to several thousands of miles; it nests along these coasts from Baja California in the north to northern Peru in the south.

The Parlama population is thought to be large, though much diminished over the last half century due to direct and indirect human impacts. The Parlama shares many of its nesting beaches with the Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), know locally as the Baula or Tora. Current indications are that the leatherback will become extinct in this region within the next ten years unless drastic action is taken.

Both these species rely upon nesting within the coastal zones of ten countries [Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Columbia, Ecuador and possibly Peru]. In each country the conservation situation is different in terms of threats (hunting, egg collecting, human usage of beaches, contamination, coastal fishery practices), the protective legal system, and the resources that are devoted to practical conservation effort. Our project focuses on these Coastal Zone conservation issues.

It is difficult, if not impossible, to separate the need for conservation of these two species from the need to better the socio-economic conditions of local coastal mestizo populations who traditionally have utilized the 'natural resource' of these turtle populations.

Our objective is, through study, dialogue and demonstration, to help reveal the scientific and sociological facts of the current situation and to encourage the development of effective and practical strategies that can be widely relied upon to sustainably manage the natural coastal resources of the region.