ABOUT THE RIVIERA MAYA
Mexico’s Riviera Maya region, along the coast of the Caribbean Sea, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. It is also home to some of the most beautiful flora and fauna you’ll find on Earth. With its massive and growing tourist activity comes waste management and nature preservation issues. The organizations we are partnering with in this area, as part of BlueCommunities, are Centro Ecológico Akumal; Flora, Fauna y Cultura de México; and Saving Our Sharks. They are NGOs that take steps to prevent and repair as much of the damage as possible through activism and education methods.
LOCAL GOALS
• Raise awareness about waste management
• Raise awareness about eco-friendly tourism
• Promote sustainable community practices
RELEVANT UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
LOCAL PARTNERS
CENTRO ECOLÓGICO AKUMAL (CEA) is a non-profit organization who works on issues related to the sustainability and improvement of the management of ecosystems in Akumal and its surroundings in the Riviera Maya. Focused mainly on projects for the Conservation and Preservation of Marine Turtles (loggerheads, green and hawksbill), they also carry out large projects in environmental education along with the community, hotel chains and tourism.
FLORA, FAUNA Y CULTURA DE MÉXICO (FFC) A non-profit organization who works for the conservation of their natural and cultural heritage, they emerged as a response to the environmental and cultural problems generated by the accelerated urban and tourist development seen in the state of Quintana Roo in recent decades. They act as a link between different social actors in order to join efforts to achieve collective benefits. Located in the cities of Playa del Carmen, Tulum and Chemuyil, they carry out projects such as Turtle Conservation, Mangrove restoration, Environment Education and more.
SAVING OUR SHARKS (SOS) is a non-profit organization focused on studying and conserving sharks (tagging and monitoring of Bull Sharks) as well as the protection of other aquatic flora and fauna. These efforts are carried out based on their 4 pillars, Investigation, Environmental Education and Outreach, Diving Activities Management and Conservation.
PLASTIC POLLUTION
All three organizations engage in volunteer cleanups in the Riviera Maya. Aside from this they also have unique efforts:
CEA: makes efforts to specifically clean turtle nesting grounds as well as clearing floating waste that threatens to damage coral reefs.
FFC: develops workshops on responsible consumption, waste treatment and management. They also host the “Recycleathon”, a recycling marathon where they invite the community to bring their recycleable waste.
SOS: they work towards clearing beaches and shark habitat waters by working alongside corporations, hotel and restaurant chains and local fishermen.
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
CEA: AKUMAL CERO A program dedicated to raising awareness about the dangers of single-use items and motivating people to live a more sustainable lifestyle by teaching them how to replace those items with reusable ones, and how to create some product of their own instead of buying them in plastic containers.
FFC: LA CEIBA 3 Community Centers focused on cultural and ecological activities and education. The goal of these public spaces is to strengthen the social fabric by teaching responsibility to one’s self as well as well as the environment.
SOS: Their EDUCATION program is based on community driven action focused towards Basic Education in elementary schools, Diving Centers for sustainable and responsible tourism, and the Future Decision Makers currently in university.
FAUNA PROTECTION
CEA: With over 1,500 nests under their care, they carry great responsibility over green and loggerhead turtles. With their Coral Reef Restoration project they also do important work protecting and restoring the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System.
FFC: Along with XCARET GROUP, they protect over 20,000 nests along the Riviera Maya, including 4 species of marine turtle in 14 beaches, and they help manage one of the largest turtle hospitals in the country.
SOS: Through tagging and telemetry they monitor, investigate and protect the Bull shark in the Mexican Caribbean Biosphere Reserve. They seek to preserve the species as well as inform tourists with accurate information to clear false labels placed on sharks.
FLORA PROTECTION
CEA: SEAGRASS They study the relationship between seagrass and marine turtles, its relative abundance (and changes over time) and the human and environmental factors that may affect the health of the three species of seagrass in the area.
FFC: MANGROVES They work with mangrove restoration through protection and reforestation efforts. Through this they are able to restore coastal dunes, restore the lagoon systems and rehabilitate tidal channels.