Turtle reintroduction Programme in Yasuni National Park
Yasuni national park is one of the most bio diverse places found on the planet. It has also been the home to local indigenous people for thousands of years, such as the Hourani and the Quichua. The indigenous people lived in harmony with the rainforest, with a nomadic life style moving around the forest, using what they needed to survive from the forest.
Nowadays with the encroachment of western culture into the forest, the situation has changed. Construction of new roads and more efficient technologies and tools brought into the area has undoubtedly changed the natives way of life.
Within the rivers of the forest live
two species of freshwater turtle, (Podocnemis expansa and Podocnemis unipicis). It has
been the practice of the local people to harvest and eat the eggs of the turtles, but now with
the assistance of roads, adding of outboard engines to boats and change in lifestyle, the harvest
rates of the indigenous have increased too unsustainable levels. More over, there is a high
demand for eggs in local markets, which makes it profitable to catch more than they need for
their families.
Since it has always been their practices to eat the eggs, it cannot be expected for them to just stop. So the WCF in collaboration with the directors of Tiputini Biodiversity Station (TBS) of Universidad San Francisco de Quito, located within Yasuni Biosphere Reserve will start a programme to insure long term survival of these two species of turtles.
In previous years TBS harvested turtle eggs, taken them to their facilities and finish the
incubation process. Successfully close to 2000 newborn turtles have been put back into the river.
With the help of WCF, TBS will construct a turtle rearing centre within the grounds of the centre
and rear at least 1000 turtles from birth until one year old turtles, and then replenish the
diminishing numbers in the rivers. 
Once the rearing technique of freshwater turtles has been
perfected and understood, the second stage will begin, and will look at long term practices for
the survival of the species. This might incorporate an educational programme for the local
people, and perhaps even teaching them how to rear turtles, so they can supply their own demand
and help to replenish numbers in the rivers. It has been part the culture of the indigenous
people to rear young animals before. Although it is still unclear the effects of global warming
on the species but with the new programme it will make it easier to for research to be done on
the species.