Save Mexico's Coral Reefs!

In 2018, we joined people and organizations around the world in celebrating the International Year of the Reef. AIDA was part of a global movement to increase awareness of the value of reefs and the threats they’re facing in seas around the world. 

We took part in a variety of legal actions to protect reefs in Mexico and across Latin America. As always, we’re proud to celebrate the small victories we’ve achieved on the road to environmental justice this year.

Together with our supporters and allies we:

1. Supported a case for the defense of the Veracruz Reef
   
   In February, we presented an amicus brief in support of an amparo filed by local residents against the expansion of the Port of Veracruz. We outlined how Mexico’s approval of the project in November 2013 violates the nation’s international environmental and human rights commitments. 
   
   
2. Alerted the Ramsar Convention to threats to Puerto Morelos
   
   Also in February, we sent an Urgent Alert to the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention, alerting them to the threats to Puerto Morelos Reef National Park, a national protected area and Wetland of International Importance. With a coalition of civil society organizations, we solicited a visit of international experts to evaluate the risks facing the site due to massive and unsustainable tourism activities.
   
   
3. Created a Working Group in Mexico’s National Wetlands Committee
   
   In May, the Working Group on Threats was created within the National Wetlands Committee to motivate Mexico to comply with obligations to protect at-risk Ramsar sites and wetlands of international importance. 
   
   
4. Supported the protection of 10 species of parrotfish in Mexico’s Caribbean
   
   In October we presented a letter of support outlining international environmental and human rights arguments for the inclusion of 10 species of parrotfish on Mexico’s list of species at-risk. Though the Working Group has acknowledged their inclusion, we are awaiting an official announcement. 
   
   
5. Helped Establish a Working Group on Corals in Costa Rica
   
   In coordination with the Ministry of Environment, we have organized a working group of academic experts, members of civil society and competent governmental authorities. This group seeks to propose comprehensive solutions to the problems facing the country’s coral ecosystems.
   
   
6. Supported a Working Group on Herbivorous Fish in Guatemala
   
   In coordination with the Healthy Reefs Initiative, academics from San Carlos University and members of the government, we’ve supported the creation of a working group to draft a technical-scientific document outlining the information necessary to extend a ministerial decree to prohibit the fishing of herbivorous fish in the Guatemalan Caribbean and, thus, protect the nation’s reefs.

Your support has made possible these important advances for coral reefs, as well as many other victories for the environment and human rights across Latin America. Together we can achieve much more in the year ahead! Thanks for all you do! 

Links:

• 20 Years of Victories

Studies show that 60 percent of coral reefs in Mexico’s Caribbean are in critical or poor condition.

Meanwhile, populations of herbivorous fish, such as parrotfish, have fallen drastically due to overfishing and the impacts of commercial fisheries.

This is worrisome because herbivorous fish play a vital role in keeping reefs resilient: by grazing the algae that grow on corals, they limit its proliferation and, in turn, aid in the development of new coral colonies.

In the face of climate change, the fish’s role in controlling algae is of particular importance. The warming of the ocean, mixed with large pollutant loads, means algae growth is ever quicker and more robust.

That’s why we believe a significant step in saving Mexico’s coral reefs can be taken by protecting herbivorous fish like the parrotfish (and their many cousins).

Together with regional and international partners, we’re calling for the inclusion of 10 species of parrotfish in the Official Mexican Law on the protection of species at risk (NOM-059-SEMARNAT), which is currently being brought up to date.

By protecting these parrotfish under national law, the Mexican State would be complying with its obligations of conduct, due diligence and prevention in dealing with the threats facing species that require special protection.

We believe there exists an international regulatory framework and sufficient technical justification to, in this way, make a decision to protect these coral reefs—among our planet’s most fragile ecosystems.

We hope the Mexican government understands that greater protection is needed to achieve the conservation of one of the most important reef systems on the planet—the Mesoamerican Reef, which we are proud to call part of our national heritage.