Tanzania: Zanzibar's Battle to Save Endangered Turtles Intensifies As Global Study Exposes Deadly Microplastic Threat

Tanzania: Zanzibar's Battle to Save Endangered Turtles Intensifies As Global Study Exposes Deadly Microplastic Threat

Zanzibar, Tanzania -- On a warm morning at Matemwe, a small crowd gathers behind a rope barrier as the sand begins to tremble. A tiny head pushes through a soft mound of earth, then another, and another. Within minutes, the shallow nest--protected for weeks by a ring of wooden stakes and mesh--comes alive with the rustle of dozens of hatchlings. Volunteers crouch nearby, recording the emergence time and shading the small creatures with their han…

Zanzibar’s Battle to Save Endangered Turtles Intensifies as Global Study Exposes Deadly Microplastic Threat

Ali Hamadi, a turtle conservationist, feeds a turtle swimming in a lagoon in Zanzibar. Credit: David Duni/IPSBy Kizito MakoyeZANZIBAR, Tanzania, Nov 25 2025 (IPS) On a warm morning at Matemwe, a small crowd gathers behind a rope barrier as the sand begins to tremble. A tiny head pushes through a soft mound of earth, then another, and another. Within minutes, the shallow nest—protected for weeks by a ring of wooden stakes and mesh—comes alive wit…