Save Mexico's Coral Reefs!

On March 23, to a packed house in the Librería Mar Adentro in Veracruz, we launched our documentary short Battle for the Reefs of Veracruz, which explores efforts to protect the Veracruz Reef System National Park.

The Veracruz reefs are threatened by the expansion of the Port of Veracruz, which those promoting the project claim to be necessary, even beneficial, because it will provide temporary jobs and economic development in the region.

The question they’re failing to address is, development at what cost?

That question is answered in the documentary, which explores the various ways the port project would harm the protected coral ecosystem, the culture of the coastal communities that depend on it for food and livelihood, and a planet that needs its corals to help fight climate change. 

The documentary also takes a look at the many national and international laws that Mexico violated when it approved the port’s expansion.

In approving the project—which infringed upon the boundaries of the natural protected area (boundaries that the government later changed)—Mexico failed to meet its obligation to conserve the natural characteristics of its ecosystems for future generations.

The government also violated its international obligations under the Ramsar Convention, an intergovernmental treaty for the protection of wetlands that lists the Veracruz reef system as a Wetland of International Importance.

As long the Mexico government and the port’s supporters continue to boast economic development over the protection of the nation’s natural heritage, we will continue our efforts to protect the coral reefs of Veracruz—for the many creatures that call them home, for the people that depend on them, and for the planet that sustains life for us all.

We’re proud of our role in producing this documentary—alongside our partners at Espora Productions, CEMDA, Greenpeace Mexico, and Dorado Buceo—and we hope you enjoy it.

Links:

• Watch the documentary (in Spanish) here

2018 kicks off the third International Year of the Reef!

To celebrate we’ll be continuing our work to protect Latin America’s reefs, taking on new projects to protect the species that depend on them, and campaigning to raise awareness of the threats facing reefs around the world.

Over the past several months, we’ve been hard at work preparing both legal and communications pieces designed to stop the expansion of the Port of Veracruz, which would harm the largest protected reef system in the Gulf of Mexico.

On the legal front, we prepared an amicus brief in support of the case to stop the port expansion, which our partner organization, the Mexican Center for Environmental Law, is leading before Mexican courts.

In it, we argue that the government’s approval of the expansion project violates international environmental and human rights law, particularly the human right to a health environment.

The project is being developed without adequate planning or analysis of the risks it would have on the reef system, which is both nationally protected as a park and internationally recognized as a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention.

It would severely damage the reef, which offers a variety of important services to the people who live nearby, including: climate regulation, protection from storms, and the provision of food. 

Beyond our legal work, we co-produced a documentary short to raise awareness of the threats posed by the port expansion amongst citizens of Mexico and the world.

The documentary, The Battle for the Reefs of Veracruz, explains the details of the expansion project, the harm it would cause, and the ongoing campaign to protect the fragile reef system. It will be released in the next several weeks, so please stay tuned!

Thank you for your continued support of the coral reefs of Mexico, and the world.