Protecting Vietnam's Sacred Sea Turtles
For centuries, sea turtles have been part of Vietnam's marine area identity — sacred creatures linking humans and the ocean. Today, they face mounting threats, and the IUCN Vietnam Marine Turtle Conservation Programme works to protect them and their habitats for future generations.
Our Mission
To conserve and restore sea turtle populations in Việt Nam through science-based protection, community engagement, and responsible ecotourism.
Why do we need to protect marine turtles?
Marine turtle numbers have dropped drastically worldwide, including in Việt Nam, due to centuries of exploitation for food and products, mortality from bycatch, disturbance of nesting sites, and growing pressures from marine pollution and climate change.
Turtles are essential for ecosystem stability, hold high scientific value, support tourism-based livelihoods, and carry cultural and spiritual significance for coastal communities across Việt Nam.
Why it matters
• Stabilize marine ecosystems and food webs.
• Preserve globally threatened species.
• Sustain nature-based tourism opportunities.
• Maintain cultural and spiritual values for coastal communities.
Major threats to marine turtles in Việt Nam
Current threats include:
1) Accidental and opportunistic capture by fishers
2) Direct take of nesting females and their eggs
3) Commercial hunting of hawksbill turtles for shells in international waters
4) Harm from fishing gears such as bottom trawls, gill nets, Cau kieu (hookline) operators, and divers harvesting crustaceans and mollusks
5) Marine plastic waste pollution
How have we protected marine turtles?
Programme overview
The long-term program "Support for Community-based Marine Turtle Nesting Beach Conservation and Bycatch Reduction in Viet Nam" (2005–2023) empowers coastal communities and protected areas to conserve turtles with financial support from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Programme goal: support and strengthen local community participation in marine biodiversity conservation.
Programme locations
MPAs and National Parks in provinces including Quảng Ninh, Hải Dương, Quảng Bình, Thừa Thiên Huế, Đà Nẵng, Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Đăk Lăk, Khánh Hòa, Lâm Đồng, Tp. Hồ Chí Minh, Kiên Giang, and others.
Programme Objectives and Outputs
Programme Objectives
1) Promote community-based conservation of turtles and their habitats; support management of nesting sites and foraging habitats in selected coastal communes.
2) Reduce bycatch and mortality of marine turtles in fishery activities.
3) Assess diversity, distribution, and abundance of marine migratory species (turtles and marine mammals) to propose temporary marine protected areas.
4) Support implementation of the Marine Turtle Conservation Action Plan 2016–2025 with a focus on legislation enforcement.
Major Outputs
• Marine Turtle Conservation Action Plans (2004–2010 and 2016–2025) developed with D-FISH/MARD.
• Decision 687/QĐ-BNN-TCTS issued February 2021 on marine plastic waste management in the fisheries sector (2020–2030) with IUCN technical input.
• Marine debris monitoring and assessment in 11 MPAs/NPs since 2019.
• Database and website on turtle populations and habitats for the MPA/NP network.
• Sea turtle Conservation Status Reports (2010, 2020) and hatchery management guidelines (2019).
• Annual MPAs/NPs meetings and integrated trainings since 2014 to improve management effectiveness for 11 sites.
• Communication and outreach in seven MPAs/NPs (Bái Tử Long, Cồn Cỏ, Cù Lao Chàm, Lý Sơn, Nha Trang, Núi Chúa, Hòn Cau).
• Private sector engagement in Quy Nhơn, Bình Định and Nha Trang, Khánh Hòa on turtle conservation.
• Sea turtle conservation volunteer program implemented since 2014 at five MPAs/NPs (Côn Đảo NP, Núi Chúa NP, Hòn Cau MPA, Lý Sơn MPA, Bái Tử Long NP).
Sea Turtle Conservation Volunteer Programme In Figures
• Around 12,000 applications across Việt Nam since 2014
• More than 500 selected volunteers
• About 70% of volunteers are female
• 30,000+ followers on IUCN's sea turtle volunteers fanpage
• 5 National Parks and Marine Protected Areas joined the programme
• 661 donors contributed 1,000,000,000 VND to establish the Information Center at Hòn Cau Marine Protected Area
Contact information
For general inquiries, partnerships, media, or volunteer details, please reach out to the coordination team.
Email: iucn.seaturtlevolunteers@gmail.com
Website: www.iucnseaturtle.org
Volunteer info: Visit the volunteer page