BRAZIL

'Projeto tamar', the Brazilian marine turtle project which has helped save the endangered marine species from extinction, is currently facing a financial crunch. The project has guided two million sea turtles safely into the Atlantic Ocean over 15 years. Said Neca Marcovaldi, president of the foundation that runs tamar jointly with the government's environment agency, "Now the big battle is to secure continuity of the project."

The turtle project, which began in 1979, raised an outcry over the slaughter of nesting females and stealing of their eggs that put the reptiles on the list of endangered animals. Of the eight sea turtles in the world, five -- the Loggerhead, the Hawksbill, the Green turtle, the Olive Ridley and the Giant Leatherback -- breed on Brazillian shores.

The project has convinced Brazil's fisherfolk not to kill turtles and provided them with alternative livelihood by paying them for locating and protecting eggs.