LAST : Latin American Sea Turtles Association

LAST Association (formerly WIDECAST-Costa Rica) is a Costa Rican group with 11 members and a directive board of 5, working together to make a change in sea turtle conservation. They are member of WIDECAST, an international scientific network with country coordinators resident in more than 40 countries and territories of the Wider Caribbean Region. With 30 years experience working with Costa Rican sea turtles, the LAST staff are experts in turtle population management, community based conservation, coastal management and volunteer assisted research. They have several projects: The Caribbean coast conservation and research program in located in Cahuita, Moin and Pacuare beaches, focuses on the nesting of leatherback, green and hawksbill turtles, while the South Pacific project is located in Osa Peninsular, focused on mangrove forests and sea grass beds, and the study of the rare Eastern Pacific hawksbill turtles. They are engaged in an ecotourism initiative, where volunteering conservation offers an alternative income to locals, reducing pressure on the turtles. They also monitor the coral reefs, train park rangers, educate local student, and also act as advisers to the government on marine environments. can programme which encourages alternative