Every year, the global Green Destinations Top 100 competition invites candidates to submit stories about sustainable management of tourism and its impacts. In this selection, we learn how ecological protection can be achieved amid sun-and-sand tourism. Abstract by Jesse Freeman.
How a Brazilian Beach Destination Saved Its Wildlife
In Tibau do Sul, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, tourism was posed an increasing threat to the coastal municipality’s award-winning ecotourism destination, called Baía dos Golfinhos (Dolphins Bay). Boat tours, passive fishing nets, and beachfront crowding were collectively increasing waste (especially plastic) and jeopardizing the habitat of the bay’s Guiana dolphins and a nesting site for its hawksbill sea turtles.
Thanks to a multi-stakeholder engagement effort stretching over 30 years, the bay’s rich diversity of marine and bird species is now well protected.
How did they do it? Public authorities, NGOs, and local communities engaged in dialogue that led to the formation of the Tibau do Sul Coastal Wildlife Reserve (REFAUTS) by municipal decree in 2006. A subsequent municipal law established regulations for use of the area, including limits on the number of boats, passengers, and tours allowed per day. Enforcement agencies also began tracking boat activity, ensuring that boat operators shut off their boats’ engines when dolphins approached.
Policies established in cooperation with the Tamar Project to protect sea turtles prohibit artificial lighting, vehicle traffic on the beach, hunting, and egg collection. Tamar monitors have recorded more than 3,000 hatchlings over four nesting seasons.
Together with workshops conducted by REFAUTS to combat waste generation and raise local awareness of harmful fishing practices, these actions represent a collective effort to preserve the species in Dolphins Bay. Their success underscores the value of ongoing, multi-stakeholder collaboration to protect biodiversity. Scientific monitoring and environmental education help lay the groundwork for more people to become direct allies in conservation.
You can read the entire Top 100 submission here.