Cabo Pulmo
The Cabo Pulmo Marine Park is one of the most successful examples of marine conservation in Mexico. It was declared one of the most robust marine reserves in the planet by the Scripps Institute of Oceanography.
Fishing was banned inside the park in 1995 and local residents along with the Mexican government, helped to bring the reef back from near extinction. Pulmo is estimated to be 20,000 years old, and is home to 226 fish species.
A coalition of grassroots organizations, individuals and local residents, including WiLDCOAST, are working to put pressure on the Mexican authorities to cancel the permit that would allow the construction of a Mega-development, that would undoubtedly, destroy the magnificent coral reef in Cabo Pulmo.
Silvia Earle- of Google Oceans-- is contemplating making Cabo Pulmo a central part of one of its HOPE SPOTS and getting marine scientists from around the world to study the rehabilitation of the ecosystem that render it to full health.
RESULTS 2011
Carried out an intensive national and international media campaign to protect the sensitive Cabo Pulmo coral reef by pressuring decision makers to cancel the Cabo Cortes mega-project. Media outputs included 73 web articles, featuring front page Huffington Post (Green Section) and front page Yahoo Mexico, 13 prime-time national television segments, 24 newspaper articles (in the US, Mexico, and Spain), 9 radio interviews, 6 local TV segments, for a total of 125 media hits. The campaign to protect Cabo Pulmo reached an estimated audience of 200 million.
Organized photo exhibitions in the Federal Senate and Legislative Palace in Mexico City to highlight the importance of the Cabo Pulmo coral reef that led legislators to pass official motions against the construction of Cabo Cortes and pressure Mexico’s environmental protection agency to revoke the project’s permits.
