PRINCE WILLIAM AWARD FOR CONSERVATION IN AFRICA WINNER 2020
Hipólito Lima
São Tomé and Príncipe
Has dedicated 26 years of his life to sea turtle conservation as a beach ranger, protecting sea turtle females and their nests, monitoring the nesting beaches, training local rangers, and empowering local communities into sea turtle guardians and conservation leaders.
Ten years ago, at this time of the season, we had already 50 or 70 sea turtles being killed. Nowadays, we don’t have even one.
His leadership and communication skills have been crucial in lobbying the national government for the establishment of legislation that would provide some measure of protection for sea turtles in the archipelago. In 2014, the first national legal framework to protect sea turtle populations was finally decreed.
I think a lot about turtles as human beings because they have the same lifespan. When a sea turtle comes out of the water to nest, it’s like a woman giving birth to a child.
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