Travar as Invasoras Project

Travar as Invasoras

Presentation

The ‘Travar as Invasoras: Capture and Removal of Invasive Exotic Turtles’ project was implemented under Notice 11545/2023, published in Diário da República no. 115, 2nd series, of 15 June 2023 ‘Projects for the eradication and control of priority invasive species’, amended by Order 6723-A/2023 of 21 June.

Developed by the Vita Nativa Association, this project aimed to capture and remove invasive exotic turtles from the São Lourenço Lagoon, the largest freshwater body in the municipality of Loulé. These turtles have a devastating impact on native fauna and flora, competing for resources and transmitting diseases, so their removal has a positive impact on the conservation status of the local natural heritage.

In addition to population control actions, the project included the use of environmental DNA for early detection of these specimens in the ecosystem and an environmental awareness component aimed at discouraging the purchase and abandonment of these exotic turtles.

Objectives

Remove exotic and invasive species responsible for the extinction of native species and the degradation of threatened ecosystems.

Alert people to the harmful effects that invasive alien species have on ecosystems.

Publicise the ban on the use of invasive species as ornamental plants or pets.

Intended Audience


General public, managers of public spaces, particularly municipalities and parish councils.

Actions


Population control.

Environmental awareness:

  • Development of educational posters and distribution to schools.
  • Creation and installation of information panels, not only in the lagoons where the invasive turtles were removed, but also in places where these animals are frequently abandoned in the Algarve.
  • Implementation of a travelling exhibition.
  • Organising environmental awareness campaigns in schools in the municipality of Loulé.
  • Developing a campaign with pet shops to apply ‘Shop without Invasives’ guarantee stamps.

Duration

September 2023 to March 2025

Contacts

936 436 948

geral@vitanativa.org