Turtles of the Amazon
In March 2007, communities that live in the lake regions in Juruti, in the West of Pará, returned 441 yellow-spotted turtles, six-tubercled river turtles and terrapins to their natural habitat. The project for managing and conserving turtles is being developed by the Juruti community and Alcoa, with the support of the National Center for the Conservation and Management of Reptiles and Amphibians - RAN of the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Natural Renewable Resources (Ibama).
The proposal of the “Turtles of the Amazon” project is to train local communities that participate directly and indirectly in the development of the region, whether they are hunter/gatherers, trades people, farmers or other organized segments of society. The communities of Santa Terezinha, on the Piranhas Lake; Santa Maria, on the Curumucuri Lake and Nossa Senhora do Carmo, on the Fazendas River, are the first to take part in the project.
 According to data presented by Ibama in a meeting held with Alcoa, the Institute has had a project with the same name running for 27 years via the National Center for the Conservation and Management of Reptiles and Amphibians – RAN. In this period nearly 53 million baby turtles have been returned to the wild. Just in Tabuleiro de Monte Cristo, on the Tapajós River, between the municipalities of Aveiro and Itaituba, also in the West of Pará, more than 8 million baby turtles have been returned to the wild and 300,000 sent to breeding farms.
Extinction – A very long time ago the use of turtles assumed commercial proportions, to the extent that some species ran the risk of extinction. Since 1967, however, when Law 5,197/67, which deals with the protection of fauna, was published, measures have been adopted to reclaim species and reduce predatory activities. In the 1970s, turtles, and especially the Podocnemis expansa (Amazon turtle) and Podocnemis unifilis (yellow-spotted turtle) species were placed on the list of animals that were in danger of extinction.
As a result of this threat in 1979 Ibama started its “Turtles of the Amazon” project work. With the development of this project, RAN consolidated its position as a benchmark institution and the Institute managed to guarantee the survival of various species of turtles, in addition to preserving regional culture.
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