Page 1 of 1

Zagreb, May 17th 2020

Dear Ms. Andersen,

My name is Marta Petraković and I come from Zagreb, Croatia. I am very worried about

the existence of hawksbill turtles. So I am writing to you, hoping that you can take more action

than I can, as the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme.

You may know that the hawksbill turtles are critically endangered. If we, humans,

continue using them and treating them the way we do, they might not live much longer, they

will go extinct.. And if they do go extinct, ecosystems will collapse. They live in tropical oceans,

in coral reefs. Hawksbill turtles are very important for the ecosystem, they eat prey such as

sponges, so they automatically provide a better and safer access for reef fish to feed

themselves.

So many factors are contributing to their endangerment. Such factors are pollution,

illegal trade and bycatch. Pollution is something many people believe is beyond our control, but

when in reality, we are the ones causing it. The waters these turtles live in are polluted by oil

spills. They mistake plastic bags for food so they suffocate on them. Every year, more than 1000

sea turtles die from pollution only. Bycatch is a big problem. Many are accidentally caught and

aren’t given the right care after being wounded. These poor creatures are killed for decoration,

jewelry and food. I want the UNEP to provide more sanctuaries for these animals or fishing free

areas.

I hope this letter will get to you, and that you can do something.

Sincerely yours,

Marta Petraković