Our Vision & Goals

Our Vision

The SWOT Program’s vision is to create a permanent global network of specialists working to accelerate the conservation of sea turtles and their habitats (learn more about the SWOT Team), pooling and synthesizing data (see our database and maps), and regularly sharing the information with audiences who can make a difference (see the SWOT Reports).

Our Goals

Fostering a network

SWOT’s existence relies on the success of developing a permanent and vibrant network of people who pool and synthesize their collective resources: the SWOT Team. Everything that SWOT produces, from the database and maps to the conservation tools and reports, is built upon individual inputs by SWOT Team members of data, expertise, and creativity. SWOT is dedicated to building a transparent and trusting community that works towards identifying and creating opportunities for collaboration between and within projects, regions, and countries.

Sharing and improving science

SWOT was created to fill a critical gap in scientific knowledge and to support comprehensive conservation planning. SWOT works directly with field-based sea turtle researchers across the globe, regularly compiling the most current data available in order to provide an up-to-date global picture of sea turtle status. SWOT is committed to helping its partners continually improve their data quality by developing and promoting common global standards for data collection and universally applicable tools for data analysis.

Promoting conservation action

Sea turtle conservation is a resource-heavy endeavor. It requires everything from state-of-the-art scientific equipment to run-of-the-mill outdoor gear. Most of all, however, it requires people; people to collect the data, people to monitor the protected areas, people to pave the way toward ocean-friendly economies. SWOT is devoted to leveraging the people-power necessary for sea turtle conservation to succeed. SWOT not only helps to advance the work of those already involved in conservation activities, but also brings sea turtles and the challenges they face to new audiences able to make a difference.

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