Our Recent Work

Un Día Por Los Mares

IOA’s EC2 program, along with Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), National Geographic’s Pristine Seas (NatGeo PS), and the Centro para la Biodiversidad Marina y la Conservación (CBMC) organized A Day for the Oceans, strengthening the 30×30 agenda in Mexico and Latin America on May 31st in Mexico City. The event brought key policymakers, civic leaders, scientists, and conservation groups together to catalyze a discussion on how to best strengthen efforts that support countries as they move to achieve 30×30 goals. Sessions highlighted best practices in other countries in topics ranging from MPAs, tourism tied to conservation and diving, as well as legislation and regulation needed to strengthen ocean and biodiversity conservation.

We closed a great evening with a keynote presentation by Mexican photographer Cristina Mittermeier and Panama’s environment Minister, Milciades Concepción. You can watch videos and more related content here.

North America’s largest marine reserve does not harm industrial fishing

In the context of our Oceans event in Mexico City, researchers from the four organizing institutions, including our own Catalina López, spoke about the latest findings from a research investigation they undertook in Mexico’s Revillagigedo National Park, the largest marine reserve in North America, that show that its implementation since 2017 has not negatively impacted the Mexican industrial fishing. The use of marine protected areas as a conservation tool is being criticized, especially by the fishing industry, highlighting the importance of scientific research that can inform the ongoing debate. You can read the full study here.

You can also read a Q&A with Catalina López, co-author of the study and Director of the GCMP here.

Webinar on the ecological footprint of the maritime industry – Recording

Last May, we organized and co-hosted a 2-hour workshop on the ecological footprint of the maritime industry along with the Centro Mexicano de Derecho Ambiental (CEMDA) and Cómo Vamos La Paz (CVLP). More than 35 attendees from civil society and press members from Baja California Sur—from La Paz, Loreto, and Los Cabos—joined this virtual event to learn about the impact ship’s scrubbers, emissions and atmospheric pollution have on marine ecosystems and the role ports and the community have in helping tackle these issues. You can watch the recording (in Spanish) here.

Fisheries and Tourism – The Value of Ecosystem Services in Bahía Magdalena, México

The Gulf of California Marine Program (GCMP) has collaborated with artisanal fishermen in Bahía Magdalena since 2012 and has produced a comprehensive report on the importance of fishing and ecotourism activities for the community’s economy. This new assessment found that tourism has become an alternative livelihood to fishing. Snorkeling with marlin generates a little over one million dollars each season, while whale-watching can generate an estimated $344,000 dollars. Comparatively, an average month’s catch can reach an estimated value of $35,000 dollars for the entire fleet. The full report will be available here on July 14th.

CeFPro Risk – Americas Conference

Soffía Alarcón Díaz, non-resident fellow of the EC2 program, was on stage at the CeFPro Risk Americas event in NYC in May, where she presented on two different panels on the ESG & Climate Risk tracks.

You can read more here!

Publications

Unlocking Sustainable Finance: Green and Sustainable Taxonomies

Don’t miss this short brief co-authored by Soffía Alarcón and Tania Miranda with an overview of green and sustainable taxonomies around the world, an explanation of potential challenges with their implementation, and the opportunities they bring to a region such as Latin America and the Caribbean.

Analysis

Op-ed by Tania Miranda on the need to develop a new capitalist paradigm where the private sector puts sustainability at its core and governments regulate with transparency and a firm hand (in Spanish only).

Op-ed by Catalina López on the need to ramp up efforts to conserve oceans and marine biodiversity (in Spanish only).

EC2 In the news: EC2 director is interviewed and quoted on a research piece by Animal Político on the consequences of marine pollution by the maritime transportation industry on climate change (in Spanish only).

The Tool of the Month

A storymap of three countries, one environment

“A broader, continent-wide perspective of our environment better illustrates our interconnections. A broader perspective also provides us with a better picture of local and regional environmental changes, including those that cross political boundaries between Canada, Mexico and the United States.” Explore this storymap and broader North American Atlas by the Commission of Environmental Cooperation (CEC) of North America that harmonizes and combines geospatial data from the three nations.

About EC2

The Institute of the Americas’ Environment & Climate Change Program (EC2) strives to catalyze climate leadership amongst the private sector and local/regional governments in the Americas, to promote sustainable growth, tackle climate change and minimize environmental impacts in the region with the goal of protecting its rich marine and land-based natural capital.