The Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (MMARN) and the Association of Hotels and Tourism of El Seibo-Miches (PROMICHES) formalized a collaboration commitment on Tuesday to execute the program for monitoring and protecting sea turtles in Miches.
The information provided highlights that through the signing of a cooperation agreement, the entities also committed to promoting education, 
social awareness, research and scientific dissemination on the species that nest in the area of Miches and La Vacama beach for more than five years.
The agreement was signed during a ceremony headed by the Minister of the Environment and Natural Resources, Miguel Ceara Hatton, and the Vice President of PROMICHES, William Phelan, representing the organizations that are part of the Board of Directors of the Turtle Monitoring and Protection Program Marinas (PROTORTOISE).
“We have to live with the ecosystems, not dominate them because otherwise the environment will defeat growth,” said Ceara Hatton, after recalling that climate change brings associated problems such as high temperatures, forest fires and floods, which must be taken into account by the human being in all his decisions. “This agreement that we have just signed with PROMICHES is an example that we must imitate throughout the country of how to do things
in a different way to allow nature to coexist with development and growth,” said Ceara Hatton.
He argued that development is important so that the children of the men and women of this generation have a better quality of life. “We have to learn to live with nature; not to master it, because if we don’t, nature is going to charge us very hard,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Vice Minister of Coastal and Marine Resources, José Ramón Reyes López, recalled that the arrival of sea turtles on the beaches to lay their eggs promotes the transfer of minerals from the ocean to the surface, maintaining a healthy exchange for ecosystems. “In turn, they help to balance the populations of other organisms, such as jellyfish and sponges, which they feed on, and whose overpopulation would pose a risk to the imbalance of coral reefs,” he said.
On his side, Phelan, praised the capacity of tourism in Miches to generate well-being for present and future generations. Phelan maintained that all the institutions that coincide in PROTORTUGA have the will to work in the protection of marine biodiversity with the public sector and the communities. “Together, we aspire to turn this initiative into a national and regional model for sea turtle conservation for the pride and well-being of our community and our country,” she said.
Members of the PROTORTUGA advisory council were also present at the signing of the agreement; representatives of the Miches community; the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the French Embassy.
The program will begin with a pilot in Playa Esmeralda.