Funded primarily by UNDP GEF-SGP Sri Lanka, with co-financing from the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (USA) and Sea Turtle Inc. (USA), this project concluded in December 2021.

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Vidathaltivu, a coastal village in northwestern Sri Lanka’s Mannar District, is home to a marginalized community affected by the civil war. Adjacent to the village lies the Vidathaltivu Nature Reserve, a 291 km² Marine Protected Area featuring seagrass meadows, mangrove forests, and the Maldiva Bank coral island. These ecosystems support the community, providing resources like fish, shrimp, and crabs. However, unsustainable practices have led to overexploitation.

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Harmful activities include dynamite fishing around the coral island, cutting mangroves for fuelwood and fishing stakes, and extensive gill netting and bottom trawling—threatening Sri Lanka’s dugongs. Bottom trawling, in particular, destroys seagrass meadows, which are critical for carbon capture, serve as breeding grounds for various marine life, and  provide feeding habitats for endangered green turtles and dugongs.

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To address these issues, the Turtle Conservation Project (TCP) conducted educational programs using local-language materials to raise awareness about marine conservation.