The journey to preserve the natural “Heritage” for 3 decades in Con Dao
Starting in 1987, the journey to conserve sea turtles in Con Dao has been fueled by the tireless efforts of Con Dao National Park in particular and environmental activists in general. 18 green turtle nesting sites have been set up with protection stations, mother turtles have been tagged for monitoring, and the coral reef and seagrass ecosystems have been carefully preserved. Thanks to that, the number of sea turtles coming to nest and breed here has grown dramatically, from 27% (in 1993) to more than 80% (in 2022), making Con Dao the area with the largest number of sea turtles in the country with about 700 each year (Figures taken from the article: Joining hands to conserve sea turtles in Southeast Asia).
During the breeding season, giant mother turtles take turns coming to calm beaches, looking for places with fine sand near the bushes to lay eggs and return to the open sea after completing their mission. Depending on the temperature, the baby turtles will struggle to rise from the warm sand to begin their journey to the sea after 2-3 months under the close supervision of the rangers. The moment when the baby turtles are fragile, struggling to find their way to the sea is a reminder of the strength and resilience of creation.
However, only 1/1,000, or even 1/10,000 turtles can survive to adulthood because they have to face many challenges right from their first steps. Typically, seabirds, crabs, or wild animals… are always lurking, trying to swallow the weak baby turtles. More seriously, natural traps such as storms, floods, garbage… are also potential threats that can take the lives of these small creatures at any time.
At the same time, current conservation activities in Con Dao still face many challenges. Among them, the lack of human resources trained in sea turtle conservation is hindering joint efforts to protect this precious natural “heritage”.
The call for “Every step, Ten thousand green miles” in the Sea Turtle Run Season 3
Recognizing the importance of sea turtle conservation as well as the desire to spread the spirit of responsible tourism in the community, the annual Run for Sea Turtles race was born in 2022, a meaningful initiative from AKYN Hotel Group and The Secret Con Dao Hotel.
After two years of successful organization, the Sea Turtle Run Season 3 has been redesigned with many new and attractive features. Not only changing the time frame to the romantic sunset when the last rays of the day gradually disappear, the Organizing Committee also offers participants many options for running distances (3km, 5km, 10km) suitable for all subjects.
First is the short distance of 3km, which promises to make the tournament more friendly to young runners and those who are new to this sport. Meanwhile, the traditional distance of 5km is still maintained to meet the needs of the majority of participants. Finally, the distance of 10km will be an interesting challenge for professional athletes and running enthusiasts.
Not only that, the season 3 running shirt is also inspired by the brilliant sunset scene when the sun gradually disappears with 2 alternating colors of red-orange and light yellow overlapping each other. The tournament medal is also delicately carved with the image of a sea turtle rising to the surface of the water, symbolizing their journey to the egg-laying area every breeding season.
With these creative innovations, the Organizing Committee hopes that Run for Sea Turtles season 3 will continue to receive enthusiastic response from the community. Thereby, raising awareness of the importance of sea turtle conservation, encouraging healthy sports spirit and at the same time inspiring the trend of responsible tourism.
